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UNIVERSITY  FARM 


SB  IBS' 


Modern 


Methods 


Texvtli  Edition. 


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PUBLISHERS'  STATEMENT 


We  DO  NOT  manufacture  or  handle  silos,  and  are  not 
interested  in  silos  in  any  way  except  from  an  educational 
standpoint.  This  attitude  enables  us  to  discuss  the  various 
types  of  silos  in  an  entirely  impartial  manner. 

We  have  been  publishing  educational  literature  on  silos 
and  silage  for  over  thirty  years,  fully  two  decades  before 
the  farm  papers  of  the  country  began  to  boost  the  subject. 
This  pioneer  work  explains  why  "Modern  Silage  Methods" 
has  become  the  standard  text  book  now  used  in  so  many 
State  Agricultural  Colleges  for  class-room  use. 

We  do  however  manufacture  the  famous  line  of  Silver's 
"Ohio"  Silo  Fillers  and  Feed  Cutters  as  illustrated  and  de- 
scribed in  the  back  part  of  this  volume,  and  if  the  reader  will 
kindly  investigate  and  consider  the  merits  of  this  line  of 
Silo  Fillers  when  in  the  market,  we  will  feel  amply  paid  for 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  publishing  this  valuable  book. 

Respectfully, 
THE  SILVER  MANUFACTURING  CO. 


Salem,  Ohio,  Nov.  2,  1914. 


MODERN 
SILAGE  METHODS 


LATEST  REVISED  EDITION 


An  entirely  new  and  practical  work  on  Silos,  their  construction 

and  the  process   of  filling,   to  which  is  added   complete 

and  reliable  information  regarding  Silage  and  its 

composition;     feeding,    and    a    treatise 

on  rations,  being  a 


FEEDERS'  AND  DAIRYMEN'S  GUIDE 


PUBLISHED 
AND   COPYRIGHTED   BY 


THE  SILVER  MANUFACTURING  CO. 
SALEM,  OHIO,  U.  S.  A. 


Revised  and  Brought  TTPHE    SILVER    MFG.    CO. 
WILLIAM  L.  WRIGHT 

3 


j:1034 


Copyrighted  November  1914,  by 
THE  SILVER  MANUFACTURING  Co. 


PREFACE. 


This  book  has  been  written  and  published  for  the  purpose  of  fur- 
nishing our  patrons  and  others  with  accurate  and  full  information 
on  the  subject  of  silo  construction  and  the  making  of  silage.  It 
has  been  our  aim  to  present  the  subject  in  a  clear,  matter-of-fact 
manner,  without  flourish  or  rhetoric,  believing  that  the  truth  con- 
cerning the  advantages  of  the  siloing  system  is  good  enough.  The 
testimony  presented,  which  is  purposely  kept  close  to  the  exper- 
ience of  authorities  on  feeding  subjects  in  and  outside  of  experi- 
ment stations,  will  abundantly  prove,  we  believe,  that  the  equip- 
ment of  a  dairy  or  stock  farm  in  almost  any  part  of  the  world  is 
no  longer  complete  without  one  -or  more  silos  on  it. 

The  new  chapter  on  "Silage  Crops  for  the  Semi-Arid  Regions 
and  for  the  South"  will  be  of  widespread  interest  to  thousands  in 
the  Great  Southwest,  and  the  chapters  on  "The  Summer  Silo," 
and  "The  Use  of  Silage  in  Beef  Production,"  will  be  found  espe- 
cially timely.  Chapter  III.  covers  a  great  variety  of  silos  made  of 
material  other  than  wood.  In  all  other  respects  the  book  has  been 
revised  and  brought  up  to  date. 

In  order  that  a  work  of  this  kind  be  accurate  and  reliable,  and 
bear  the  scrutiny  of  scientific  readers,  the  use  of  a  number  of 
scientific  terms  and  phrases  is  rendered  necessary,  and  in  order 
that  these  may  be  more  readily  comprehended  by  agriculturists, 
a  comprehensive  glossary  of  such  terms  is  included,  following  the 
last  chapter,  which  can  be  referred  to  from  time  to  time,  or  can 
be  studied  previous  to  reading  the  book. 

In  the  compilation  of  certain  parts  of  the  book  and  in  the 
revision  of  the  "Feeder's  Guide"  we  have  had  the  valuable  assist- 
ance of  Prof  Woll,  of  California  Experiment  Station,  formerly  of 
Wisconsin,  author  of  "A  Book  on  Silage"  and  "A  Handbook  for 
Farmers  and  Dairymen."  Free  use  of  the  former  book  has  been 
made  in  the  preparation  of  this  volume,  as  well  as  of  experiment 
station  publications  treating  the  subject  of  silage. 

Hoping  that  this  latest  revision  of  "Modern  Silage  Methods" 
will  prove  helpful  to  our  patrons,  and  incidentally  suggest  to  them 
that  the  "OHIO"  Silage  Cutters  and  Blower  Elevators  are  manu- 
factured by  us,  we  are, 

Very  truly, 

THE    SILVER    MFG.    CO. 


311034 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PREFACE  3 

INTRODUCTORY 7-10 

CHAPTER  I. 

Advantages  of  the  Silo — Preservation  of  a  larger  quantity  of 
original  food  value  enabled  by  the  use  of  the  Silo  than  any 
method  known — Losses  of  nutritive  value  in  dry  curing — Small 
losses  in  the  Siloing  Process — The  Silo  furnishes  a  feed  of  uni- 
form quality — Economy  of  making — Economy  of  storage — No 
danger  of  rain — No  danger  of  late  summer  droughts — Food 
from  thistles — Value  in  intensive  farming — Other  advant- 
ages   11-20 

CHAPTER  II. 

How  to   Build   a  Silo. 

Silos — General  requirements  for  silo  structures — On  the  size  of 
silo  required — On  the  form  of  silos — Relations  of  horizontal 
feeding — Area  and  number  of  cows  kept — Daily  ration  of 
silage  for  different  kinds  of  stock — Location  of  the  silo — 
Different  types  of  silo  structures — Round  wooden  silos — The 
silo  roof — Ventilation  of  Silo — Painting  the  Lining — Modifica- 
tions of  the  Wisconsin  Silo — Plastered  round  wooden  Silos — 
Brick-lined  Silos — Stave  Silos — Cheap  Stave  Silos — Silo  Doors — 
A  modification  of  a  stave  Silo — Connecting  round  silos  with 
the  barn — Other  forms  of  round  silos — Octagonal  Silos — Cost 
and  estimates  for  different  kinds 21-81 

CHAPTER  III. 

Silos  Other  Than  Wood. 

Monolithic  concrete  or  cement  silos — Horizontal  and  vertical  re- 
inforcement necessary — Continuous  doorways — Method  of  tying 
roof — Hy-Rib  concrete  reinforced  silos — Metal-lath  plastered 
silos — Modifications,  double  and  single  wall — Cement  Block 
silos,  one-  and  two-piece — Patented  sectional  block  silos — 
Cement  Stave  silos— Vitrified  Tile  silos— Brick  silos,  single  and 
double  wall— All-Metal  silos— Underground  or  Pit  silos— Foun- 
dations and  Roofs  for  silos 82-110 

4 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Summer  Silos. 

Necessary  in  supplementing  summer  pastures  and  in  tiding  herd 
over  period  of  drouth,  heat  and  flies — Reduces  pasture  acre- 
age required — Avoids  labor  of  soiling  crop  system — Oregon 
results — Purdue  Station  Experiments — Solves  summer  drouth 
problem — Permits  night  pasturing — Storage  of  surplus  crops — 
Comments  by  the  agricultural  press — Feeding  of  summer 
silage 111-117 

CHAPTER  V. 

Silage  in   Beef  Production. 

Value  and  Economy  of  Silage  for  fattening  steers — Experiments 
made  twenty-five  years  ago — Beef  producing  area  vastly  in- 
creased by  use  of  silo — Stock- Yards  are  strong  boosters  for 
silage — Results  by  Nebraska,  Pennsylvania,  Missouri,  South 
Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Illinois,  Indiana  and  South  Dakota 
Stations — Results  in  Saskatchewan,  Kansas,  Iowa,  and  Texas — 
Results  in  the  South 118-129 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Silage  System   and   Soil    Fertility. 

Helps  maintain  soil  fertility — Every  crop  grown  robs  soil  of  fer- 
tilizing elements — Value  of  Such  Fertility  Lost — Restoration 
has  vital  bearing  on  our  crop  yields — Stock,  dairy  and  mixed 
farming  vs.  hay  and  grain  farming — Value  of  barnyard  ma- 
nure— Every  farm  a  manure  factory  with  silage — Keeping  fer- 
tility on  the  farm— Restoring  Fertility  in  the  South 130-138 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Silage   Crops. 

Indian  corn — Soils  best  adapted  to  corn  culture  and  preparation 
of  land — Varieties  of  corn  for  the  silo — Time  of  cutting  corn 
for  the  silo — Dry  Matter  in  Corn  at  Different  Stages — Methods 
of  planting  corn — All  other  silage  crops 139-159 


311034 


6  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Silage  Crops  for  the  Arid  and  Semi-Arid   Regions. 

Importance  of  Sorghum.  Kafir  and  Milo  for  silage — Mixtures  of 
the  sorghums  and  other  crops — Cowpeas,  field  peas,  soy  beans, 
alfalfa,  beet  leaves  and  tops,  Russian  thistle,  etc. — Conditions 
in  the  Great  Southwest — Silage  crops  for  the  Southern' 
States 160-172 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Filling  the  Silo — Indian  Corn — Siloing  corn  "ears  and  all" — The 
filling  process — Proper  method  of  unloading — The  proper  dis- 
tribution of  cut  material  in  the  silo — Tramping — Size  of  cutter 
and  power  required — Length  of  chain  elevator  required — Direc- 
tions for  operating  "Ohio"  Blower  Cutters — Danger  from  car- 
bonic-acid poisoning  in  silos — Covering  the  siloed  fodder — Use 
of  water  in  filling  silos — Clover  for  summer  silage — Freezing 
of  silage— Steamed  silage  173-189 

CHAPTER  X. 

How  to  feed  silage — Silage  for  milch  cows — Silage  in  the  pro- 
duction of  certified  milk — Silage  for  beef  cattle — for  Horses 
and  Mules — for  Sheep — for  Swine — Silage  for  poultry — Addi- 
tional testimony  as  to  the  advantage  of  silage — Corn  silage  as 
compared  with  root  crops — Corn  silage  as  compared  with  hay — 
Corn  'silage  compared  with  fodder  corn — Cost  of  Producing 
Succulent  Crops— How  to  Estimate  Cost  of  Silage 190-211 

CHAPTER  XI. 

A  feeder's  guide — Composition  of  the  animal  body — Composition 
of  feeding  stuffs — Digestibility  of  foods — Relative  value  of 
feeding  stuffs — Feeding  standards — How  to  figure  out  rations — 
Grain  mixtures  for  dairy  cows — Average  composition  of  Silage 
crops  of  different  kinds,  in  per  cent — Analysis  of  feeding 
stuffs — Ready  reference  tables  212-240 

GLOSSARY   241-245 

CONCLUSION 246 

INDEX  .  .  .247-256 


Modern  Silage  Methods. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Thirty  years  ago  few  farmers  knew  what  a  silo  was,  and  fewer 
still  had  ever  seen  a  silo  or  fed  silage  to  their  stock.  Today  silos 
are  as  common  as  barn  buildings  in  many  farming  districts  in  'this 
country,  and  thousands  of  farmers  would  want  to  quit  farming 
if  they  could  not  have  silage  to  feed  to  their  stock  during  the 
larger  portion  of  the  year.  Thirty  years  ago  it  would  have  been 
necessary  to  begin  a  book  describing  the  siloing  system  with 
definitions,  what  is  meant  by  silos  and  silage;  now  all  farmers 
who  read  agricultural  papers  or  attend  agricultural  or  dairy  con- 
ventions are  at  least  familiar  with  these  words,  even  if  they  have 
not  had  a  chance  to  become  familiar  with  the  appearance  and 
properties  of  silage.  They  know  that  a  SILO  is  an  air-tight  struc- 
ture used  for  the  preservation  of  green,  coarse  fodder  in  a  succu- 
lent condition,  and  that  SILAGE  is  the  feed  taken  out  of  a  silo. 

We  shall  later  see  which  crops  are  adapted  for  silage  making, 
but  want  to  state  here  at  the  outset  that  Indian  corn  is  pre- 
eminently the  American  crop  suited  to  be  preserved  in  silos,  and 
that  this  crop  is  siloed  far  more  than  all  other  kinds  of  crops  put 
together.  When  the  word  silage  is  mentioned  we,  therefore,  in- 
stinctively think  of  corn  silage.  We  shall  also  follow  this  plan  in 
the  discussions  in  this  book;  when  only  silage  is  spoken  of  we 
mean  silage  made  from  the  corn  plant;  if  made  from  other  crops 
the  name  of  the  crop  is  always  given,  as  clover  silage,  peavine 
silage  ,etc. 

History  of  the  Silo. — While  the  silo  in  one  form  or  another 
dates  back  to  antiquity,  it  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  the 
seventies  that  the  building  of  silos  intended  for  manufacture  of 
silage  began  in  this  country.  In  1882  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  could  find  only  ninety-one  farmers  in  this 
country  who  used  silos.  During  the  last  twenty-five  years,  how- 
ever, silos  have  gradually  become  general  in  all  sections  of  the 
country  where  dairying  and  stock-raising  are  important  indus- 
tries; it  is  likely,  if  a  census  were  taken  of  the  number  of  silos 
in  this  country  today,  that  we  would  find  between  a  half 


8  INTRODUCTORY. 

and  three-fourths  of  a  million  of  them.  Wisconsin  alone,  ac- 
cording to  a  report  issued  by  the  Orange  Judd  publications, 
had  41,535  silos  on  Jan.  1,  1914,  and  figuring  the  same  ratio 
of  increase  for  1914  as  for  1913,  would  have  52,334.  The 
same  report  showed  130,303  silos  in  thirteen  dairy  states  of  the 
Mississippi  valley  and  the  1914  increase  figuring  as  above  would 
indicate  a  total  of  170,837.  The  most  rapid  strides  in  silo  build- 
ing, however,  have  been  made  in  the  Southwest.  On  Sept.  1st, 
1914,  there  were  8,560  silos  in  Texas  and  4800  more  under  con- 
struction. In  Kansas  there  were  7,137  silos  in  March  1914  and 
taking  the  report  as  authentic  that  there  were  only  60  silos  in  the 
state  in  1909,  the  increase  in  the  five  years  amounts  to  11,800  per 
cent.  Oklahoma  silos  increased  50  per  cent,  in  1913  alone.  Not 
only  has  the  use  of  silos  spread  to  every  section  of  the  United 
States,  but  the  corn  belt  has  been  pushed  steadily  northward,  with 
the  result  that  the  building  of  silos  is  making  headway  in  Mani- 
toba, Alberta,  Saskatchewan,  British  Columbia  and  the  Canadian 
Northwest  generally.  During  the  past  two  years  there  has  been 
a  wonderful  increase  in  the  interest  taken  in  the  subject,  an  in- 
terest fostered  by  the  example  set  by  the  Canadian  Government 
Experimental  Farms  and  the  literature  available  from  them. 

The  silo  stands  today  among  the  most  important,  practical  and 
profitable  adjuncts  of  the  farm.  It  is  a  big  dividend-paying  in- 
vestment— not  an  expense.  It  has  long  been  considered  a  necessity 
on  thousands  of  dairy  farms  and  we  find  most  of  them  in  the 
states  that  rank  first  as  dairy  states,  viz.:  New  York,  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  Illinois,  Pennsylvania,  etc.  The  farmers  that  have 
had  most  experience  with  silage  are  the  most  enthusiastic  advo- 
cates of  the  siloing  system,  and  the  testimony  of  intelligent  dairy- 
men all  over  the  country  is  strongly  in  favor  of  the  silo.  Said  a 
New  York  farmer  recently  in  one  of  our  main  agricultural  papers: 
"I  would  as  soon  try  to  farm  without  a  barn  as  without  a  silo," 
and  another  wrote,  "I  wouldn't  take  a  thousand  dollars  for  my 
silo  if  I  could  not  replace  it."  The  well-known  agricultural  writer, 
Joseph  E.  Wing,  says:  "No  stock  feeder  who  grows  corn  can 
afford  to  ignore  the  silo."  "Buff  Jersey,"  an  Illinois  dairy  farmer 
and  writer  on  agricultural  topics,  declares  his  faith  in  silage  as 
follows:  "I  am  fully  satisfied  that  silage  is  a  better  feed,  and  a 
cheaper  one,  than  our  pastures."  Another  writer  says:  "The  silo 
to  my  mind  presents  so  many  advantages  over  the  system  of 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

soiling  that  it  is  bound  to  eventually  do  away  with  the  use  of 
soiling  crops."  Prof.  Eckels,  of  the  Missouri  Agricultural  College, 
says:  "I  would  not  attempt  to  produce  milk  in  this  state  or  any 
other  state  in  the  Corn  Belt  without  being  provided  with  a  silo 
of  sufficient  capacity  to  supply  silage  through  the  winter,  and 
preferably  with  sufficient  capacity  to  contain  enough  for  a  sup- 
plement for  a  short  pasture  in  the  summer."  Prof.  Pew,  of  the 
Iowa  Experiment  Station,  says:  "By  the  liberal  use  of  silage  the 
cost  of  wintering  the  breeding  herd  of  beef  cows  can  be  cut  down 
nearly  one-third;  also  the  cows  will  come  through  the  winter  in 
better  condition." 

Our  first  effort  in  writing  this  book  will  be  to  present  facts 
that  will  back  up  these  statements,  and  show  the  reader  the  many 
advantages  of  the  silo  over  other  systems  of  growing  and  curing 
crops  for  the  feeding  of  farm  animals.  We  shall  show  that  up- 
to-date  dairy  or  stock  farming  is  well  nigh  impossible  without 
the  aid  of  a  silo.  The  silo  enables  us  to  feed  live  stock  succulent 
feeds  the  year  around,  and  preserves  the  fodder  in  a  better  con- 
dition and  with  less  waste  than  any  other  system  can.  We  shall 
see  the  why  and' wherefore  of  this  in  the  following  pages,  and 
shall  deal  with  the  best  way  of  making  and  feeding  silage  to 
farm  animals.  We  wish  to  state  at  the  outset  that  we  do  not 
propose  to  make  any  claims  for  the  silo  that  will  not  stand  the 
closest  investigation.  In  the  early  days  of  the  history  of  the 
silo  movement  it  was  thought  necessary  to  make  exaggerated 
claims,  but  this  is  no  longer  the  case.  Naked  facts  are  sufficient 
to  secure  for  the  silo  a  permanent  place  among  the  necessary 
equipment  of  a  modern  dairy  or  stock  farm.  In  discussing  the 
silo  we  shall  keep  close  to  what  has  been  found  out  at  our  experi- 
ment stations,  and,  we  believe,  shall  be  able  to  prove  to  any  fair- 
minded  reader  that  the  silo  is  the  greatest  boon  that  has  come 
to  modern  agriculture  since  the  first  reaper  was  manufactured, 
and  that  with  competition  and  resulting  low  prices,  it  will  be 
likely  to  become  more  of  a  necessity  to  our  farmers  in  the  future 
than  it  has  been  in  the  past.  We  aim  to  convince  our  readers 
that  the  most  sensible  thing  they  can  do  is  to  plan  to  build  a  silo 
at  once  if  they  do  not  now  have  one.  It  is  unnecessary  to  argue 
with  those  who  are  already  the  happy  possessors  of  a  silo,  for 
it  is  a  general  experience  where  a  farmer  has  only  provided  for 
immediate  wants  in  building  his  silo  that  he  will  build  another  as 


10  INTRODUCTORY. 

soon  as  he  has  had  some  experience  with  silage  and  finds  out  how 
his  stock  likes  it,  and  how  well  they  do  on  it. 

The  life  of  the  silo  should  always  be  carefully  considered  in 
connection  with  its  initial  cost.  A  silo  might  be  built  for  $150 
which  would  last  ten  years,  the  cost  exclusive  of  upkeep  being  $15 
a  year.  With  the  use  of  better  materials  or  construction  on  the 
same  size  silo  its  life  might  be  increased  to  twenty  years  at  an 
additional  outlay  of  perhaps  $50,  which  it  will  be  readily  seen  is 
much  cheaper  per  year.  Quality  usually  §joes  hand  in  hand  with 
price  and  the  farmer  who  can  afford  it  should  not  make  the  mis- 
take of  building  anything  but  the  best  if  he  wishes  to  economize 
to  greatest  advantage. 

Modern  practice  has  proved  that  no  man  need  say  "I  cannot 
afford  a  silo,"  because  any  farmer  who  is  at  all  handy  with  ham- 
mer and  saw  can  provide  a  silo  large  enough  for  moderate  re- 
quirements with  very  little  actual  outlay  of  money,  and  this  same 
built-at-home  silo  will  earn  for  its  owner  money  to  build  a  better 
one  and  enlarge  his  herd.  Directions  for  building  several  .kinds 
of  such  silos  are  given  in  the  following  pages.  It  must  not  be 
expected  that  they  will  last  as  long  or  will  prove  as  economical 
in  the  long  run  as  more  substantially-built  factory-made  silos, 
still  they  give  excellent  service  until  the  farmer  can  afford  to 
put  up  a  structure  of  better  quality.  Experience  in  making  and 
feeding  silage  will  be  gained  at  much  less  cost  by  using  a  good 
silo  in  the  beginning. 

We  mention  this  fact  here  to  show  farmers  who  may  be  con- 
sidering the  matter  of  building  a  silo,  or  who  may  be  inclined  to 
think  that  the  silo  is  an  expensive  luxury,  only  for  rich  farmers, 
that  the  cost  of  a  silo  need  not  debar  them  from  the  advantages 
of  having  one  on  their  farm,  and  thus  secure  a  uniform  succulent 
feed  for  their  stock  through  the  whole  winter.  Farmers  who  have 
not  as  yet  informed  themselves  in  regard  to  the  value  of  the 
silo  and  silage  on  dairy  or  stock  farms  ,are  respectfully  asked 
to  read  carefully  the  following  statements  of  the  advantages  of 
the  silo  system  over  other  methods  of  preserving  green  forage 
for  winter  or  summer  feeding. 

It  has  been  said  that  "Whoever  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow 
where  but  one  grew  before  is  a  benefactor  to  mankind."  A  silo 
makes  it  possible  to  keep  two  cows  where  but  one  was  kept  be- 
fore, and  who  would  not  gladly  double  his  income?  Does  not  this 
interest  you? 


CHAPTER  I. 

ADVANTAGES   OF  THE   SILO. 

The  silo  enables  us  to  preserve  a  larger  quantity  of  the  food 
materials  of  the  original  fodder  for  the  feeding  of  farm  animals 
than  is  possible  by  any  other  system  of  preservation  now  known. 
Pasture  grass  is  the  ideal  feed  for  live  stock,  but  it  is  not  avail- 
able more  than  a  few  months  in  the  year.  The  same  holds  true 
with  all  soiling  crops  or  tame  grasses  as  well.  When  made  into 
hay  the  grasses  and  other  green  crops  lose  some  of  the  food  ma- 
terials contained  therein,  both  on  account  of  unavoidable  losses 
of  leaves  and  other  tender  parts,  and  on  account  of  fermentations 
which  take  place  while  the  plants  are  drying  out. 

In  cases  of  Indian  corn  the  losses  from  the  latter  source  are 
considerable,  owing  to  the  coarse  stalks  of  the  plant  and  the 
large  numbers  of  air-cells  in  the  pith  of  these.  Under  the  best 
of  conditions  cured  fodder  corn  will  lose  at  least  ten  per  cent,  of 
its  food  value  when  cured  in  shocks;  such  a  low  loss  can  only 
be  obtained  when  the  shocks  are  cared  for  under  cover,  or  out  in 
the  field  under  ideal  weather  conditions:  In  ordinary  farm  prac- 
tice the  loss  in  nutritive  value  will  approach  twenty- five  per  cent., 
and  will  even  exceed  this  figure  unless  special  precautions  are 
taken  in  handling  the  fodder,  and  it  is  not  left  exposed  to  all 
kinds  of  weather  in  shocks  in  the  field  through  the  whole  winter. 
These  figures  may  seem  surprisingly  large  to  many  farmers  who 
have  left  fodder  out  all  winter  long,  and  find  the  corn  inside  the 
shock  bright  and  green,  almost  as  it  was  when  put  up.  But  ap- 
pearances are  deceitful;  if  the  shocks  had  been  weighed  as  they 
were  put  up,  and  again  in  the  late  winter,  another  story  would  be 
told,  and  it  would  be  found  that  the  shocks  only  weighed  any- 
where from  a  third  to  a  half  as  much  as  when  they  were  cured 
and  ready  to  be  put  in  the  barn  late  in  the  fall;  if  chemical 
analysis  of  the  corn  in  the  shocks  were  made  late  in  the  fall,  and 
when  taken  down,  it  would  be  seen  that  the  decrease  in  weight 
was  not  caused  by  evaporation  of  water  from  the  fodder,  but  by 
waste  of  food  materials  contained  therein  from  fermentations, 
or  action  of  enzymes.  (See  Glossary.) 

The  correctness  of  the  figures  given  above  has  been  abund- 
antly proved  by  careful  experiments  conducted  at  a  number  of 
different  experiment  stations,  notably  the  Wisconsin,  New  Jersey, 
Vermont,  Pennsylvania,  and  Colorado  experiment  stations.  A 

11 


12 


ADVANTAGES  OF  THE  SILO. 


summary  of  the  main  work  in  this  line  is  given  in  Prof.  Woll's 
Book  on  Silage.  In  the  Wisconsin  experiments  there  was  an  aver- 
age loss  of  23.8  per  cent,  in  the  dry  matter  (see  Glossary)  and 
24.3  per  cent,  of  protein,  during  four  different  years,  when  over 
36  tons  of  green  fodder  had  been  put  up  in  shocks  and  carefully 
weighed  and  sampled  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  experiment. 
These  shocks  had  been  left  out  for  different  lengths  of  time,  under 
varying  conditions  of  weather,  and  made  from  different  kinds  of 
corn,  so  as  to  present  a  variety  of  conditions.  The  Colorado  ex- 
periments are  perhaps  the  most  convincing  as  to  the  losses  which 
unavoidably  take  place  in  the  curing  of  Indian  corn  in  shocks.- 
The  following  account  is  taken  from  Prof.  Cook's  report  of  the 
experiments.  As  the  conditions  described  in  the  investigation  will 
apply  to  most  places  on  our  continent  where  Indian  corn  is  cured 
for  fodder,  it  will  be  well  for  farmers  to  carefully  look  into  the 
results  of  the  experiment. 

"It  is  believed  by  most  farmers  that,  in  the  dry  climate  of 
Colorado,  fodder  corn,  where  cut  and  shocked  in  good  shape,  cures 
without  loss  of  feeding  value,  and  that  the  loss  of  weight  that  oc- 
curs is  merely  due  to  the  drying  out  of  the  water.  A  test  of  this 
question  was  made  in  the  fall  of  1893,  and  the  results  obtained 
seemed  to  indicate  that  fully  a  third  of  the  feeding  value  was  lost 
in  the  curing.  This  result  was  so  surprising  that  the  figures  were 
not  published,  fearing  that  some  error  had  crept  in,  though  we 
could  not  see  where  there  was  the  possibility  of  a  mistake. 

"In  the  fall  of  1894  the  test  was  repeated  on  a  larger  scale. 
A  lot  of  corn  was  carefully  weighed  and  sampled.  It  was  then 
divided  into  three  portions;  one  was  spread  on  the  ground  in  a 
thin  layer,  the  second  part  was  set  up  in  large  shocks,  containing 
about  five  hundred  pounds  of  green  fodder  in  each,  while  the  rest 
was  shocked  in  small  bundles.  After  remaining  thus  for  some 
months,  until  thoroughly  cured,  the  portions  were  weighed, 
sampled  and  analyzed  separately.  The  table  gives  the  losses  that 
occurred  in  the  curing. 

Table   I.     Losses   in   Curing. 


Large  Shocks 

Small  Shocks 

On  the  Ground 

i 
Total           Dry 
Weight      Matter 

Total 
Weight 

Dry 

Matter 

Total 
Weight 

Dry 
Matter 

Lbs. 


When    Shocked    .  . 

952 

217 

294 

77 

186 

42 

After  Curing    ... 

258 

150 

64 

44 

33 

19 

Loss  in  Weight   
Per  Cent  of  Loss   

694 

73 

67 
31 

230 

78 

53 
43 

153 

82 

23 
55 

LOSSES  IN  DRY  CURING.  13 

"So  far  as  could  be  told  by  the  eye,  there  had  been  no  loss. 
The  fodder  had  cured  in  nice  shape,  and  the  stalks  on  the  inside 
of  the  bundles  retained  their  green  color,  with  no  sign  of  molding 
or  heating.  And  yet  the  large  shocks  had  lost  31  per  cent,  of 
their  dry  matter,  or  feeding  value;  the  small  shocks  43  per  cent, 
and  the  corn  spread  on  the  ground  55  per  cent. 

"On  breaking  or  cutting  the  stalks  these  losses  were  explained. 
The  juice  was  acid,  and  there  was  a  very  strong  acid  odor,  show- 
ing that  an  active  fermentation  was  taking  place  in  this  seemingly 
dry  fodder.  We  had  noticed  this  strong  odor  the  fall  before  and 
all  through  the  winter.  When  the  fodder  corn  for  the  steers  is 
put  through  the  feed  cutter  that  same  strong  smell  is  present. 

"It  can  be  said,  then,  that  the  dryness  of  the  climate  in  Colo- 
rado does  not  prevent  fodder  corn  from  losing  a  large  part  of  its 
feeding  value  through  fermentation.  Indeed,  the  loss  from  this 
source  is  fully  as  great  as  in  the  damp  climate  in  New  England. 

"As  compared  with  the  losses  by  fermentation  in  the  silo,  the 
cured  fodder  shows  considerably  the  higher  loss." 

In  experiments  at  the  Wisconsin  station  eleven  shocks  cured 
under  cover  in  the  barn  lost  on  an  average  over  8  per  cent,  of 
dry  matter  and  toward  14  per  cent,  of  protein.  In  an  experiment 
at  the  Maine  Station  over  14  per  cent,  of  dry  matter  was  lost  in 
the  process  of  slow  drying  of  a  large  sample  of  fodder  corn  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances.  "It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
this  loss  falls  almost  entirely  on  the  nitrogen -free  extract,  or 
carbohydrates  (see  Glossary),  more  than  two-thirds  of  it  being 
actually  accounted  for  by  the  diminished  percentage  of  sugars." 

Since  such  losses  will  occur  in  fodder  cured  under  cover  with 
all  possible  care,  it  is  evident  that  the  average  losses  of  dry  mat- 
ter in  field-curing  fodder  corn,  given  in  the  preceding,  by  no  means 
can  be  considered  exaggerated.  Exposure  to  rain  and  storm, 
abrasion  of  dry  leaves  and  thin  stalks,  and  other  factors  tend  to 
diminish  the  nutritive  value  of  the  fodder,  aside  from  the  losses 
from  fermentations,  so  that  very  often  only  one-half  of  the  food 
materials  originally  present  in  the  fodder  is  left  by  the  time  it 
is  fed  out.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  fodder  has,  furthermore, 
a  lower  digestibility  and  a  lower  feeding  value  than  the  fodder 
corn  when  put  up,  for  the  reason  that  the  fermentations  occurring 
during  the  curing  process  destroy  the  most  valuable  and  easily 
digestible  part,  i.  e.,  the  sugar  and  starch  of  the  nitrogen-free  ex- 
tract, which  are  soluble,  or  readily  rendered  soluble,  in  the  process 
of  digestion. 


14  ADVANTAGES  OF  THE  SILO. 

2.  Losses  in  the  Siloing  Process. — As  compared  with  the 
large  losses  in  food  materials  in  field-curing  of  Indian  corn  there 
are  but  comparatively  small  losses  in  the  silo,  caused  by  fermen- 
tation processes  or  decomposition  of  the  living  plant  cells  at  they 
are  dying  off.  The  losses  in  this  case  have  been  repeatedly  de- 
termined by  experiment  stations,  and,  among  others,  by  those  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding.  The  average  losses  of  dry  matter  in  the 
fodder  corn  during  the  siloing  period,  of  four  seasons  (1887-'91) 
as  determined  by  Prof.  Woll  at  the  Wisconsin  Experiment  Station 
was  about  16  per  cent.  The  (silos  used  in  these  trials,  as  in  case 
of  nearly  all  the  early  experiments  on  this  point,  were  small  and 
shallow,  however,  only  14  feet  deep,  were  rectangular  in  form,  and 
not  always  perfectly  air-tight,  a  most  important  point  in  silo  con- 
struction, as  we  shall  see,  and  a  portion  of  the  silage  therefore 
came  out  spoilt,  thus  increasing  the  losses  of  food  materials  in 
the  siloing  process.  The  losses  reported  were,  therefore,  too  great, 
and  there  is  now  an  abundance  of  evidence  at  hand  showing  that 
the  figures  given  are  higher  than  those  found  in  actual  practice, 
and  the  necessary  loss  in  the  silo  comes  considerably  below  that 
found  in  the  early  experiments  on  this  point.  There  are  plenty 
of  cases  on  record  showing  that  ten  per  cent,  represents  the  maxi- 
mum loss  of  dry  matter  in  modern  deep,  well-built  silos.  The 
losses  found  in  siloing  corn  at  a  number  of  experiment  stations 
during  the  last  ten  years  have  come  at  or  below  this  figure.  It 
is  possible  to  reduce  the  loss  still  further  by  avoiding  any  spoilt 
silage  on  the  surface,  by  beginning  to  feed  immediately  after  the 
filling  of  the  silo,  and  by  feeding  the  silage  out  rather  rapidly. 
Experiments  conducted  on  a  small  scale  by  Prof.  King  in  1894 
gave  losses  of  only  2  and  3  per  cent,  of  dry  matter,  on  the  strength 
of  which  results,  amongst  others,  he  believes  that  the  necessary 
loss  of  dry  matter  in  the  Silo  need  not  exceed  5  per  cent. 

Summarizing  our  considerations  concerning  the  relative  losses 
of  food  materials  in  the  field-curing  and  siloing  of  Indian  corn, 
we  may,  therefore,  say  that  far  from  being  less  economical  than 
'the  former,  the  silo  is  more  so,  under  favorable  conditions  for 
both  systems,  and  that  therefore  a  larger  quantity  of  food  ma- 
terials is  obtained  by  filling  the  corn  crop  into  a  silo  than  by  any 
other  method  of  preserving  it  known  at  the  present  time. 

What  has  been  said  in  the  foregoing  in  regard  to  fodder  corn 
applies  equally  well  to  other  crops  put  into  the  silo.  A  few  words 


THE   SILOING  PROCESS.  15 

will  suffice  in  regard  to  two  of  these,  clover  and  alfalfa.  Only  a 
few  accurate  siloing  experiments  have  been  conducted  with  clover, 
but  enough  has  been  done  to  -show  that  the  necessary  losses  in 
siloing  this  crop  do  not  much,  if  any,  exceed  those  of  Indian  corn. 
Lawes  and  Gilbert,  of  the  Rothamsted  Experiment  Station,  Eng- 
land, placed  264,318  pounds  of  first  and  second  crop  clover  into 
one  of  these  stone  silos,  and  took  out  194,470  pounds  of  good 
clover  silage.  Loss  in  weight,  24.9  per  cent.  This  loss  fell,  how- 
ever, largely  on  the  water  in  the  clover.  The  loss  of  dry  matter 
amounted  to  only  5.1  per  cent.,  very  nearly  the  same  amount  of 
loss  as  that  which  the  same  experimenter  found  had  taken  place 
in  a  large  rick  of  about  forty  tons  of  hay,  after  standing  for  two 
years.  The  loss  of  protein  in  the  silo  amounted  to  8.2  per  cent. 
In  another  silo  184,959  pounds  of  second-crop  grass  and  second- 
crop  clover  were  put  in,  and  170,941  pounds  were  taken  out.  Loss 
in  gross  weight,  7.6  per  cent.;  loss  of  dry  matter,  9.7  per  cent; 
of  crude  protein,  7.8  per  cent. 

In  a  siloing  experiment  with  clover,  conducted  at  the  Wiscon- 
sin Station,  on  a  smaller  scale,  Mr.  P.  G.  Short  obtained  the  fol- 
lowing results:  Clover  put  into  the  silo,  12,279  pounds;  silage 
taken  out,  9,283  pounds;  loss,  24.4  per  cent.;  loss  of  dry  matter, 
15.4  per  cent.;  of  protein,  12.7  per  cent. 

There  is  nothing  in  any  of  these  figures  to  argue  against  the 
siloing  of  green  clover  as  an  economical  practice.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  conclude  that  this  method  of  preserving  the  clover  crop 
is  highly  valuable,  and,  in  most  cases,  to  be  preferred  to  making 
hay  of  the  crop. 

No  extended  investigation  has  been  made  as  to  the  losses  sus- 
tained in  the  siloing  of  alfalfa,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  but 
that  they  are  considerably  smaller  than  in  making  alfalfa  hay, 
if  proper  precautions  guarding  against  unnecessary  losses  in  the 
silo  are  taken.  According  to  the  testimony  of  Professor  Headden 
of  the  Colorado  Experiment  Station,  the  minimum  loss  from  the 
falling  off  of  leaves  and  stems  in  successful  alfalfa  hay  making 
amounts  to  from  15  to  20  per  cent.,  and  in  cases  where  the  con- 
ditions have  been  unfavorable,  to  as  much  as  60  and  even  66  per 
cent,  of  the  hay  crop.  Aside  from  the  losses  sustained  through 
abrasion,  rain  storms,  when  these  occur,  may  reduce  the  value 
of  the  hay  one-half.  The  losses  from  either  of  these  sources  are 
avoided  in  preserving  the  crop  in  the  silo,  and  in  their  place  a 


16  ADVANTAGES  OP  THE  SILO. 

small  loss  through  fermentation  occurs,  under  ordinary  favorable 
conditions,  amounting  to  about  10  per  cent,  or  less. 

There  is  this  further  advantage  to  be  considered  when  the 
question  of  relative  losses  in  the  silo  and  in  hay-making  or  field- 
curing  green  forage,  that  hay  or  corn  fodder,  whether  in  shocks 
or  in  the  field  or  stored  under  shelter,  gets  poorer  and  poorer  the 
longer  it  is  kept,  as  the  processes  of  decomposition  are  going  on 
all  the  time;  in  the  silo,  on  the  other  hand,  the  loss  in  food  sub- 
stances is  not  appreciably  larger  six  months  after  the  silo  was 
filled  than  it  is  one  month  after,  because  the  air  is  shut  out,  so 
that  the  farmer  who  puts  up  a  lot  of  fodder  corn  for  silage  in  the 
fall  can  have  as  much  and  as  valuable  feed  for  his  stock  in  the 
spring,  or  in  fact,  the  following  summer  or  fall,  as  he  would  have 
if  he  proceeded  to  feed  out  all  the  silage  at  once. 

"Generally  speaking,  3  tons  of  silage  are  equal  in  feeding  value 
to  one  ton  of  hay.  On  this  basis  a  much  larger  amount  of  digest- 
ible food  can  be  secured  from  an  acre  of  silage  corn  than  from 
an  acre  of  hay.  The  food  equivalent  of  4  tons  of  hay  per  acre  can 
easily  be  produced  on  an  acre  of  land  planted  to  corn." — (Plumb.) 

5.  Succulence.  Succulent  food  is  nature's  food. — We  all  know 
the  difference  between  a  juicy,  ripe  apple  and  the  green  dried  fruit. 
In  the  drying  of  fruit  as  well  as  of  green  fodder  water  is  the 
main  component  taken  away;  with  it,  however,  go  certain  flavor- 
ing matters  that  do  not  weigh  much  in  the  chemist's  balance,  but 
are  of  the  greatest  importance  in  rendering  the  food  material  pal- 
atable. It  is  these  same  flavoring  substances  which  are  washed 
out  of  the  hay  with  heavy  rains,  and  renders  such  hay  of  inferior 
value,  often  no  better  than  so  much  straw,  not  because  it  does 
not  contain  nearly  as  much  food  substances,  like  protein,  fat, 
starch,  sugar,  etc.  (see  Glossary),  but  because  of  the  substances 
that  render  hay  palatable  having  been  largely  removed  by  the  rain. 

The  influence  of  well-preserved  silage  on  the  digestion  and 
general  health  of  animals  is  very  beneficial,  according  to  the  unan- 
imous testimony  of  good  authorities.  It  is  a  mild  laxative,  and 
acts  in  this  way  very  similarly  to  green  fodders.  The  good  ac- 
counts reported  of  the  prevention  of  milk  fever  by  the  feeding  of 
silage  are  explained  by  the  laxative  influence  of  the  feed. 

4.  Uniformity.  The  silo  furnishes  a  feed  of  uniform  quality, 
and  always  near  at  hand,  available  at  any  time  during  the  whole 
year  or  winter.  No  need  of  fighting  the  elements,  or  wading 


ECONOMY  OF  SILAGE.  17 

through  snow  or  mud  to  haul  it  from  the  field;  once  in  the  silo 
the  hard  work  is  over,  and  the  farmer  can  rest  easy  as  to  the 
supply  of  succulent  roughage  for  his  stock  during  the  winter.  An 
ample  supply  of  succulent  feed  is  of  advantage  to  all  classes  of 
animals,  but  perhaps  particularly  so  in  case  of  dairy  cows  and 
sheep,  since  these  animals  are  especially  sensitive  to  sudden 
changes  in  the  feed.  Also,  stock  raisers  value  silage  highly  on  this 
account,  for  silage  is  of  special  value  for  feeding  preparatory  to 
.turning  cattle  onto  the  watery  pasture  grass  in  the  spring.  The 
loss  in  the  weight  of  cattle  on  being  let  out  on  pasture  in  spring 
is  often  so  great  that  it  takes  them  a  couple  of  weeks  to  get  back 
where  they  were  when  turned  out.  When  let  out  in  the  spring, 
steers  will  be  apt  to  lose  weight,  no  matter  whether  silage  or  dry 
feed  has  been  fed,  unless  they  are  fed  some  grain  during  the  first 
week  or  two  after  they  are  turned  out.  For  more  detailed  in- 
formation regarding  the  feeding  of  silage  for  beef  production,  see 
chapter  V. 

5.  Economy  of  Storage. — Less  room  is  required  for  the  storage 
in  a  silo  of  the  product  from  an  acre  of  land  than  in  cured  condi- 
tion in  a  barn.    A  ton  of  hay  stored  in  the  mow  will  fill  a  space  of 
at  least  400  cubic  feet;    a  ton  of  silage,  a  space  of  about  50  cubic 
feet.     Considering  the  dry  matter  contained  in  both  feeds  we  have 
found    that  8,000   pounds   of   silage   contains   about   as   much   dry 
matter  as  2,323  pounds  of  hay,  or  160  against  465  cubic  feet,  that 
is,  it  takes  nearly  three  times  as  much  room  to  store   the  same 
quantity  of  food  materials  in  hay  as  in  silage.     In  case  of  field- 
cured  fodder  corn,  the  comparison  comes  out  still  more  in  favor  of 
the  silo,  on  account  of  the  greater  difficulty  in  preserving  the  thick 
cornstalks  from  heating  when  placed  under  shelter.     According  to 
Professor  Alvord,  an  acre  of  corn,  field-cured,  stored  in  the  most 
compact  manner  possible,  will  occupy  a  space  ten  times  as  great 
as  in  the  form  of  silage.    While  hay  will  contain  about  86  per  cent, 
of  dry  matter,  cured  fodder  corn  often  does  not  contain  more  than 
60  and  sometimes  only  50  per  cent,  of  dry  matter;    the  quantities 
of  food  material  in  fodder  corn  that  can  be  stored  in  a  given  space 
are,    therefore,   greatly  smaller  than   in   case   of   hay,   and   conse- 
quently, still  smaller  than  in  case  of  silage. 

Since  smaller  barns  may  be  built  when  silage  is  fed,  there  is 
less  danger  of  fire,  thus  decreasing  the  cost  of  insurance. 

6.  No   Danger  of   Rain. — Rainy  weather  is  a  disadvantage   in 


18  ADVANTAGES  OP  THE  SILO. 

filling  silos  as  in  most  other  farm  operations,  but  when  the  silo 
is  once  filled,  the  fodder  is  safe,  and  the  farmer  is  independent  of 
the  weather  throughout  the  season. 

If  the  corn  has  suffered  from  drought  and  heat  during  the  fall 
months,  it  is  quite  essential  to  wet  the  corn  either  as  it  goes  into 
the  silo,  or  when  this  has  all  been  filled,  in  order  to  secure  a  good 
quality  of  silage;  and  unless  the  corn  is  very  green  when  it  goes 
into  the  silo,  the  addition  of  water,  or  water  on  the  corn  from 
rain  or  dew,  will  do  no  harm.  If  the  corn  is  too  dry  when  put  into 
the  silo,  the  result  will  be  dry  mold,  which  is  prevented  by  the 
addition  of  'the  water,  which  replaces  that  which  has  dried  out 
previous  to  filling  if  this  has  been  delayed. 

A  common  practice  among  successful  siloists  is  to  fill  the  silo 
when  the  lower  leaves  of  the  standing  corn  have  dried  up  about 
half  way  to  the  oars.  Generally,  the  corn  will  be  in  about  the 
proper  condition  at  that  time,  and  there  will  still  be  moisture 
enough  left  in  the  plants  so  that  the  silage  will  come  out  in  first- 
class  condition. 

There  must  be  moisture  enough  in  the  corn  at  time  of  filling 
the  silo,  so  that  the  heating  processes,  which  take  place  soon  after, 
and  which  expel  a  considerable  portion  of  the  moisture,  can  take 
place,  and  still  leave  the  corn  moist  after  cooling,  when  the  silage 
will  remain  in  practically  a  uniform  condition  for  several  years  if 
left  undisturbed.  But  if,  on  account  of  over-ripeness,  frosts,  or 
excessive  drought,  the  corn  is  drier  than  stated,  it  should  be  made 
quite  wet  as  stated  above,  and  there  is  little  danger  of  getting  it 
too  wet.  The  writer  has  filled  silo  with  husked  corn  fodder  about 
Christmas,  and  as  the  fodder  was  thoroughly  dried,  a  %-inch  pipe 
was  connected  with  an  overhead  tank  in  the  barn  and  arranged 
to  discharge  into  the  carrier  of  the  cutter  as  the  cutting  took  place, 
a  No.  18  Ohio  cutter  being  used  for  that  purpose.  Although  a  full 
stream  was  discharged,  and  with  considerable  force,  on  account 
of  the  elevation  of  the  tank,  and  the  cut  fodder  in  the  silo  still 
further  wet  on  top  with  a  long  hose  attached  to  a  wind  force 
pump,  it  was  found,  on  opening  the  silo  a  month  later,  that  none 
too  much  water  had  been  used;  the  fodder  silage  came  out  in  good 
condition,  was  eaten  greedily  by  the  milch  cows,  and  was  much 
more  valuable  than  if  it  had  been  fed  dry  from  the  field. 

Where  haymaking  is  precluded,  as  is  sometimes  the  case  with 
second-crop  clover,  rowen,  etc.,  on  account  of  rainy  weather  late 


ECONOMY  OF  SILAGE.  19 

in  the  season  the  silo  will  furthermore  preserve  the  crop,  so  that 
the  farmer  may  derive  full  benefit  from  it  in  feeding  it  to  his 
stock.  Frosted  corn  can  also  be  preserved  in  the  silo,  and  will 
come  out  a  very  fair  quality  of  silage  if  well  watered  as  referred 
to  above. 

7.  No   danger  of    Late   Summer    Droughts. — By   using   the   silo 
with  clover  or  other  green  summer  crops  early  in  the  season,  a 
valuable  succulent  feed  will  be  at  hand  at  a  time  when  pasture 
in  most  regions  is  apt  to  give  out;    then  again,  the  silo  may  be 
filled  with  corn  when  this  is  in   the  roasting-ear  stage,  and  the 
land  thus  entirely  cleared  earlier  than  when   the  corn   is  left  to 
mature  and  the  corn  fodder  shocked  on  the  land,  making  it  possible 
to  finish  fall  plowing  sooner  and  to  seed  the  land  down  to  grass 
or  winter  grain. 

8.  Food    from    Thistles. — Crops   unfit   for   haymaking   may   be 
preserved  in  the  silo  and  changed  into  a  palatable  food.     This  is 
not  of  the  importance  in  this  land  of  plenty  of  ours  that  it  is,  or 
occasionally  has  been,  elsewhere.     Under  silage  crops  are  included 
a  number  of  crops  which  could  not  be  used  as  cattle  food  in  any 
other  form  than  this,  as  ferns,  thistles,  all  kinds  of  weeds,  etc.     In 

case  of  fodder  famine  the  silo  may  thus  help  the  farmer  to  carry 

• 
his  cattle  through  the  winter. 

9.  Value   in    Intensive    Farming. — More  stock  can   be  kept  on 
a  certain  area  of  land  when  silage  is  fed,  than  is  otherwise  the 
case.     The  silo  in  this  respect  furnishes  a  similar  advantage  over 
field-curing  fodders,  as  does  the  soiling  system  over  that  of  pas- 
turage;   in  both  the  siloing  and  soiling  system  there  is  no  waste 
of  feed,  all  food  grown  on  the  land  being  utilized  for  the  feeding 
of  farm  animals,  except  a  small  unavoidable   loss  in  case  of  the 
siloing  system  incurred  by  the  fermentation  processes  taking  place 
in  the  silo. 

Pasturing  stock  is  an  expensive  method  of  feeding,  as  far  as 
the  use  of  the  land  goes,  and  can  only  be  practiced  to  advantage 
where  this  is  cheap.  As  the  land  increases  in  value,  more  stock 
must  be  kept  on  the  same  area  in  order  to  correspondingly  increase 
the  profits  from  the  land.  The  silo  here  comes  in  as  a  material 
aid,  and  by  its  adoption,  either  alone  or  in  connection  with  the 
soiling  system,  it  will  be  possible  to  keep  at  least  twice  the  number 
of  animals  on  the  land  that  can  be  done  under  the  more  primitive 
system  of  pasturing  and  feeding  dry  feeds  during  the  winter. 


20  ADVANTAGES  OF  THE  SILO. 

The  experience  of  Goffart,  "the  Father  of  Modern  Silage,"  on  this 
point  is  characteristic.  On  his  farm  of  less  than  eighty-six  acres 
at  Burtin,  France,  he  kept  a  herd  of  sixty  cattle,  besides  fattening 
a  number  of  steers  during  the  winter,  and  eye-witnesses  assure 
us  that  he  had  ample  feed  on  hand  to  keep  one  hundred  head 
of  cattle  the  year  around. 

10.  Other  Advantages. — Silage  feeding  does  away  with  all  ag- 
gravating corn-stalks  in  the  manure,  and  prevents  their  waste 
as  well.  It  excels  dry  feed  for  the  cheap  production  of  fat  beef. 
It  keeps  young  stock  thrifty  and  growing  all  winter  and  enables 
the  cows  to  produce  milk  and  butter  more  economically.  Its 
use  lessens  the  labor  required  to  care  for  a  herd,  if  it  is  con- 
veniently attached  to  the  barn  or  feeding  shed.  It  allows  the 
spring  pastures  to  be  conserved  until  the  opportune  moment,  and 
can  be  fed  at  any  time  of  the  year  as  occasion  demands.  It  enables 
preservation  of  food  which  matures  at  a  rainy  time  of  the  year, 
when  drying  would  be  almost  impossible.  It  does  away  with  the 
system  of  strictly  grain  farming  where  few  of  the  elements  are 
returned  to  the  soil.  It  increases  digestive  capacity,  that  is:  the 
chemical  action  that  takes  place  is  an  aid  to  digestion  that  enables 
the  cow  to  eat  more  than  she  otherwise  could  digest  and  assim- 
ilate, thus  making  more  milk  from  the  same  food  elements  than 
she  could  make  from  any  other  dairy  food  product. 

We  might  go  on  and  enumerate  many  other  points  in  which 
the  siloing  process  has  decidedly  the  advantage  over  the  method 
of  field-curing  fodder  or  haymaking;  but  it  is  hardly  necessary. 
The  points  given  in  the  preceding  will  convince  any  person  open 
to  conviction,  of  the  superiority  of  the  silo  on  stock  or  dairy  farms. 
As  we  proceed  with  our  discussion  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
refer  to  several  points  in  favor  of  silage  as  compared  with  dry 
feed,  which  have  not  already  been  touched  upon.  We  shall  now, 
first  of  all,  however,  proceed  to  explain  the  method  of  building 
silos  of.  all  kinds,  after  which  we  will  discuss  the  summer  silo, 
the  wonderful  progress  of  silage  in  beef  production,  and  of  its 
help  in  maintaining  soil  fertility.  The  subject  of  silage  crops 
and  of  the  making  and  feeding  of  silage  will  then  follow. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

Before  taking  up  for  consideration  the  more  important  type 
of  silo  construction,  it  will  be  well  to  explain  briefly  a  few  funda- 
mental principles  in  regard  to  the  building  of  silos  which  are  com- 
mon to  all  types  of  silo  structures.  When  the  farmer  understands 
these  principles  thoroughly,  he  will  be  able  to  avoid  serious  mis- 
takes in  building  his  silo  and  will  be  less  bound  by  specific  direc- 
tions, that  may  not  always  exactly  suit  his  conditions,  than  would 
otherwise  be  the  case.  What  is  stated  in  the  following  in  a  few 
words  is  in  many  cases  the  result  of  dearly-bought  experiences 
of  pioneers  in  siloing;  many  points  may  seem  self-evident  now, 
which  were  not  understood  or  appreciated  until  mistakes  had 
been  made  and  a  full  knowledge  had  been  accumulated  as  to  the 
conditions  under  which  perfect  silage  can  be  secured. 

General  Requirements  for  Silo  Structures. 

1.  The  silo  must  be  air-tight. — We  have  seen  that  the  process 
of  silage  making  is  largely  a  series  of  fermentation  processes. 
Bacteria  (small  plants  or  germs,  which  are  found  practically 
everywhere)  pass  into  the  silo  with  the  corn  or  the  siloed  fodder, 
and,  after  a  short  time,  begin  to  grow  and  multiply  in  it,  favored 
by  the  presence  of  air  and  an  abundance  of  feed  materials  in  the 
fodder.  The  more  air  at  the  disposal  of  the  bacteria,  the  further 
the  fermentation  process  will  progress.  If  a  supply  of  air  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  silo  from  the  outside,  the  bacteria  will  have  a  chance 
to  continue  to  grow,  and  more  fodder  will  therefore  be  wasted. 
If  a  large  amount  of  air  be  admitted,  as  is  usually  the  case  with 
the  top  layer  of  silage,  the  fermentation  process  will  be  more  far- 
reaching  than  is  usually  the  case  in  the  lower  layers  of  the  silo. 
Putrefactive  bacteria  will  then  continue  the  work  of  the  acid 
bacteria,  and  the  result  will  be  rotten  silage.  If  no  further  sup- 
ply of  air  is  at  hand,  except*  what  remains  in  the  interstices  be- 
tween the  siloed,  fodder,  the  bacteria  will  gradually  die  out,  or 
only  such  forms  will  survive  as  are  able  to  grow  in  the  absence 
of  air. 

Another  view  of  the  cause  of  the  changes  occurring  in  siloed 

21 


22  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

fodder  has  been  put  forward  lately,  viz.,  that  these  are  due  not  to 
bacteria,  but  to  "intramolecular  respiration"  in  the  plant  tissue, 
that  is  due  to  a  natural  dying-off  of  the  life  substance  of  the 
plant  cells.  From  a  practical  point  of  view  it  does  not  make  any 
difference  whether  the  one  or  the  other  explanation  is  correct. 
The  facts  are  with  us,  that  if  much  air  is  admitted  into  the  silo, 
through  cracks  in  the  wall  or  through  loose  packing  of  the  siloed 
mass,  considerable  losses  of  food  substances  will  take  place,  first, 
because  the  processes  of  decomposition  are  then  allowed  to  go 
beyond  the  point  necessary  to  bring  about  the  changes  by  which 
the  silage  differs  from  green  fodder,  and,  second,  because  the  de- 
composition will  cause  more  or  less  of  the  fodder  to  spoil  or  mold. 

2.  The  silo   must   be   deep.     Depth   is   essential   in  building  a 
silo,  so  as  to  have  the  siloed  fodder  under  considerable  pressure, 
which  will  cause  it  to  pack  well  and  leave  as  little  air  as  possible 
in  the  interstices  between  the  cut  fodder,  thus  reducing  the  losses 
of  food   materials   to  a  mininum.     The    early   silos   built   in   this 
country  or  abroad  were  at  fault  in  this  respect;  they  were  shallow 
structures,  not  over  12-15  ft.  perhaps,  and  were  longer  than  they 
were  deep.     Experience  showed  that   it  was  necessary  to  weight 
heavily  the  siloed  fodder  placed  in  these  silos,  in  order  to   avoid 
getting  a  large  amount  of  moldy  silage.     In  our  modern  silos  no 
weighting  is   necessary,    since  the  material   placed   in  the   silo   is 
sufficiently  heavy  from  the  great   depth  of  it  to   largely  exclude 
the  air  in  the  siloed  fodder  and  thus   secure   a  good    quality   of 
silage.      In    case    of    deep    silos    the    loss   from    spoiled    silage    on 
the  top   is   smaller  in  proportion   to   the  whole  amount   of  silage 
stored;  there  is  also  less  surface  in  proportion  to  the  silage  stored, 
hence   a   smaller    loss   occurs   while   the   silage   is   being  fed   out, 
and  since  the  silage  is  more  closely  packed,  less  air  is   admitted 
from    the   top.     As   the   silage   packs   better   in   a   deep   silo   than 
in  a  shallow  one,  the  former  kind  of  silos  will  hold  more  silage 
per  cubic  foot  than  the  latter;  this  is  plainly  seen  from  the  figures 
given  in  the  table  on  page  25.     Silos  built  during  late  years  have 
generally    been    over   thirty   feet   deep,    and   many   are   forty   feet 
deep  or  more. 

3.  The  silo  must  have  smooth,  perpendicular  walls,  which  will 
allow  the  mass  to  settle  without  forming  cavities  along  the  walls. 
In  a  deep  silo  the  fodder  will  settle  several  feet  during  the  first 
few  days  after  filling.     Any  unevenness  in  the  wall  will  prevent 


SIZE   OF  THE   SILO.  23 

the  mass  from  settling  uniformly,  and  air  spaces  in  the  mass  thus 
formed  will  cause  the  surrounding  silage  to  spoil. 

4.  The  walls  of  the  silo  must  be  rigid  and  very  strong  so  as 
not  to  spring-  when  the  siloed  fodder  settles.  The  lateral  (out- 
ward) pressure  of  cut  fodder  corn  when  settling  at  the  time  of 
filling  is  considerable,  and  increases  with  the  depth  of  the  silage 
at  the  rate  of  about  eleven  pounds  per  square  foot  for  each  foot  of 
depth.  At  a  depth  of  20  feet  there  is,  therefore,  an  outward  pres- 
sure of  220  pounds;  at  30  feet,  330  pounds,  etc.  In  case  of  a  16- 
foot  square  silo  where  the  sill  is  30  feet  below  the  top  of  the  silage 
the  side  pressure  on  the  lower  foot  of  the  wall  would  be  about 
16x330,  or  5,280  pounds. 

It  is  because  of  this  great  pressure  that  it  is  so  difficult  to 
make  large  rectangular  silos  deep  enough  to  be  economical,  and 
it  is  because  the  walls  of  rectangular  silos  always  spring  more  or 
less  under  the  pressure  of  the  silage  that  this  seldom  keeps  as 
well  in  them  as  it  does  in  those  whose  walls  cannot  spring. 

As  the  silage  in  the  lower  part  of  the  silo  continues  to  settle, 
the  stronger  outward  pressure  there  spreads  the  walls  more  than 
higher  up  and  the  result  is  the  wall  may  be  actually  forced  away 
from  the  silage  so  that  air  may  enter  from  above;  and  even  if 
this  does  not  occur  the  pressure  against  the  sides  will  be  so 
much  lessened  above  by  the  greater  spreading  below  that  if  the 
walls  are  at  all  open,  air  will  more  readily  enter  through  them. 

In  the  round  wooden  silos  every  board  acts  as  a  hoop  and  as 
the  wood  stretches  but  little  lengthwise  there  can  be  but  little 
spreading  of  such  walls,  and  in  the  case  of  stave  silos  the  iron 
hoops  prevent  any  spreading,  and  it  is  on  account  of  these  facts 
that  the  round  silo  is  rapidly  replacing  every  other  form. 

After  the  silage  has  once  settled,  there  is  no  lateral  pressure 
in  the  silo;  cases  are  on  record  where  a  filled  silo  has  burned  down 
to  the  ground  with  the  silage  remaining  practically  intact  as  a 
tall  stack. 

Other  points  of  importance  in  silo  building  which  do  not  apply 
to  all  kinds  of  silos,  will  be  considered  when  we  come  to  describe 
different  kinds  of  silo  structures.  Several  questions  present  them- 
selves at  this  point  for  consideration,  viz.,  how  large  a  silo  shall 
be  built,  where  it  is  to  be  located,  and  what  form  of  silo  is  pre- 
ferable under  different  conditions? 


24  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

On  the  Size  of  Silo  Required. 

In  planning  a  silo  the  first  point  to  be  decided  is  how  large  it 
shall  be  made.  We  will  suppose  that  a  farmer  has  a  herd  of 
twenty-five  cows,  to  which  he  wishes  to  feed  silage  during  the 
winter  season,  say  for  180  days.  We  note  at  this  point  that  silage 
will  not  be  likely  to  give  best  results  with  milch  cows,  or  with 
any  other  class  of  farm  animals,  when  it  furnishes  the  entire 
portion  of  the  dry  matter  of  the  feed  ration.  Variation  in  the  size 
of  the  animals  will  determine  whether  each  cow  is  to  receive 
20,  30  or  40  pounds  per  day.  As  a  rule,  it  will  not  be  well  to 
feed  over  forty  pounds  of  silage  daily  per  head.  If  this  quantity 
be  fed  daily,  on  an  average  for  a  season  of  180  days,  we  have  for 
the  twenty-five  cows  180,000  pounds,  or  ninety  tons.  On  account 
of  the  fermentation  processes  taking  place  in  the  silo,  we  have 
seen  that  there  is  an  unavoidable  loss  of  food  materials  during 
the  siloing  period,  amounting  to,  perhaps,  10  per  cent;  we 
must,  therefore,  put  more  than  the  quantity  given  into  the  silo. 
If  ninety  tons  of  silage  is  wanted,  about  one  hundred  tons  of 
fodder  corn  must  be  placed  in  the  silo;  we  figure,  therefore,  that 
we  shall  need  about  four  tons  of  silage  per  head  for  the  winter, 
but,  perhaps  five  tons  per  head  would  be  a  safer  calculation,  and 
provide  for  some  increase  in  the  size  of  the  herd. 

Corn  silage  will  weigh  from  thirty  pounds,  or  less,  to  toward 
fifty  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  according  to  the  depth  in  the  silo 
from  which  it  is  taken,  and  the  amount  of  moisture  which  it 
contains.  We  may  take  forty  pounds  as  an  average  weight  of  a 
cubic  foot  of  corn  silage.  One  ton  of  silage  will,  accordingly,  take 
up  fifty  cubic  feet;  and  100  tons,  5,000  cubic  feet.  If  a  rectangular 
one-hundred-ton  silo  is  to  be  built,  say  12x14  feet,  it  must  then 
have  a  height  of  30  feet.  If  a  circular  silo  is  wanted  the  following 
dimensions  will  be  about  right:  Diameter,  14  feet;  height  of  silo, 
30  feet,  etc.  In  the  same  way,  a  silo  holding  200  tons  of  corn 
or  clover  silage  may  be  built  of  the  dimensions  14x18x40  feet, 
16x16x39  feet,  or  if  round,  diameter,  18  feet,  height,  37  feet,  etc. 

Since  the  capacity  of  round  silos  is  not  as  readily  computed 
as  in  case  of  a  rectangular  silo,  we  give  on  following  page  a  table 
which  shows  at  a  glance  the  approximate  number  of  tons  of  silage 
that  a  round  silo,  of  a  diameter  from  8  to  20  feet,  and  20  feet  to 
50  feet  deep,  will  hold. 

Table  III  shows  readily  how  much  silage  is  required  to  keep 


SIZE   OF  THE   SILO. 


Table    II. — Capacity   of    Round    Silos. 


25 


Approximate   Capacity  of  Cylindrical   Silos,  for  Well-Matured 
Corn   Silage,  in  Tons. 


Height  of 
Silo  inside.  Feet 

Inside  Diameter  of  Silo,  Feet. 

8 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

20 

18 
19 
20 
22 
23 
24 
25 
27 
28 
30 
31 
33 
35 
36 
37 
39 
40 
41 
43 
45 
47 

30 

31 
33 
34 
36 
38 
40 
42 
44 
46 
48 
.50 
53 
55 
58 
61 
64 
67 
70 
73 
75 
77 
80 

36 
39 
41 
43 
45 
48 
50 
52 
54 
56 
58 
62 
66 
69 
73 
77 
82 
86 
89 
95 
98 
101 
104 

45 
48 
50 
52 
55 
57 
60 
63 
66 
70 
75 
79 
84 
89 
94 
100 
105 
109 
114 
118 
121 
125 
128 
132 
135 

51 
54 
57 
60 
64 
68 
71 
75 
79 
83 
86 
90 
94 
98 
102 
106 
110 
115 
119 
124 
129 
134 
139 
144 
150 

60 
63 
66 
70 
73 
77 
80 
85 
90 
95 
100 
105 
110 
115 
120 
125 
130 
135 
140 
145 
150 
155 
160 
166 
171 
176 
182 

66 
71 
76 
80 
85 
90 
94 
98 
102 
106 
110 
114' 
118 
123 
131 
136 
139 
144 
151 
157 
165 
170 
176 
181 
188 
195 
200 

87 
91 
95 
99 
103 
107 
111 
116 
120 
125 
131 
137 
143 
149 
155 
161 
167 
173 
180 
187 
193 
201 
207 
215 
222 
229 
236 

104 
110 
116 
121 
126 
132 
136 
141 
148 
155 
162 
169 
176 
183 
190 
197 
204 
211 
218 
225 
233 
240 
247 
254 
261 

120 
125 
130 
136 
140 
145 
150 
156 
162 
169 
175 
183 
190 
200 
212 
220 
228 
236 
244 
252 
261 
269 
277 
285 
293 
301 
310 

122 
129 
137 
145 
152 
160 
168 
176 
184 
192 
200 
209 
218 
227 
2% 
245 
255 
262 
270 
280 
289 
298 
307 
316 
325 
334 
344 

145 
155 
161 
170 
177 
185 
193 
200 
208 
217 
226 
235 
245 
256 
267 
279 
290 
300 
310 
320 
330 
340 
350 
361 
371 
382 

21  

22  

23 

24  

75 

26  -.. 

27 

28  

29          ... 

30 

31  
32... 

33  . 

34... 

35  
36  

37  

38 

39... 

40 

41  
42 

43... 

44  
45 

46  

47 

48  
49 

50  

eight  to  136  cows  for  six  months,  feeding  them  an  average  of  40 
pounds  a  day,  and  the  dimensions  of  circular  silos  as  well  as  the 
area  of  land  required  to  furnish  the  different  amounts  of  feed 
given,  computed  at  15  tons  per  acre.  The  amount  of  silage  given 
in  the  table  refers  to  the  number  of  tons  in  the  silo  after  all 
shrinkage  has  occurred;  as  the  condition  of  the  corn  as  placed 
in  the  silo  differs  considerably,  these  figures  may  vary  in  different 
years  or  with  different  crops  of  corn,  and  should  not  be  inter- 
preted too  strictly;  the  manner  of  filling  the  silo  will  also  deter- 
mine how  much  corn  the  silo  will  hold;  if  the  silo  is  filled  with 
well-matured  corn,  and  after  this  has  settled  for  a  couple  of  days, 
filled  up  again,  it  will  hold  at  least  10  per  cent,  more  silage  than 
when  it  is  filled  rapidly  and  not  refilled  after  settling.  To  the 
person  about  to  fill  a  silo  for  the  first  time,  it  is  suggested  that 


26 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


Table  III. — Showing  Required  Acreage  and  Stock  Feeding  Capacity 
for  Silos  of  Various  Sizes. 


Dimensions 

Capacity  in  Tons 

Acres  to  Fill 
15  Tons  to  Acre 

Cows  it  will  keep 
<>  months.  40  Ibs. 
feed  per  day 

10x20 

30 

3. 

8 

10x24 

36 

3. 

10 

10x28 

44 

3. 

11 

10x52 

53 

3.4 

14 

10x40 

75 

4.6 

19 

12x20 

45 

3. 

11 

12x24 

55 

3.2 

13 

12x28 

66 

4.1 

15 

12x32 

84 

5. 

20 

12x40 

121 

7.3 

27 

14x20 

60 

4.2 

1^ 

14x22 

66 

4.5 

17 

14x24 

73 

4.7 

19 

14x28 

90 

5.6 

22 

14x32 

110 

6.7 

27 

14x40 

150 

9.2 

37 

16x24 

95 

6.2 

24 

16x28 

111 

7.2 

29 

16  x  32 

130 

8.7 

35 

16x40 

180 

12. 

49 

18x30 

150 

10.2 

41 

18x36 

190 

13. 

50 

18  x  40 

229 

15.3 

62 

18x46 

277 

18.8 

77 

20x30 

185 

12.5 

50 

20x40 

279 

18.8 

77 

20x50 

382 

25.5 

104 

20x60 

500 

32. 

136 

it  requires  a  "good  crop"  to  yield  15  tons  per  acre,  and  as  a 
"little  too  much  is  about  right,"  be  sure  to  plant  enough  to  fill 
the  silo  full,  being  guided  by  the  condition  of  soil,  etc.,  under 
his  control. 

On  the  Form  of  Silos. 

The  first  kind  of  silos  built,  in  this  country  or  abroad,  were 
simply  holes  or  pits  in  the  ground,  into  which  the  fodder  was 
dumped,  and  the  pit  was  then  covered  with  a  layer  of  dirt  and, 
sometimes  at  least,  weighted  with  planks  and  stones.  Then,  when 
it  was  found  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  feed  would  spoil  by 
this  crude  method,  separate  silo  structures  were  built,  first  of 
stone,  and  later  on,  of  wood,  brick  or  cement.  As  previously 


ON  THE  FORM  OF  SILOS.  27 

stated,  the  first  separate  silos  built  were  rectangular,  shallow  struc- 
tures, with  a  door  opening  at  one  end.  The  silos  of  the  French 
pioneer  siloist,  August  Goffart,  were  about  16  feet  high  and  40x16 
feet  at  the  bottom.  Another  French  silo  built  about  fifty  years  ago, 
was  206x21%  feet  and  15  feet  deep,  holding  nearly  1,500  tons  of 
silage.  Silos  of  a  similar  type,  but  of  smaller  dimensions,  were 
built  in  this  country  in  the  early  stages  of  silo  building.  Ex- 
perience has  taught  siloists  that  it  was  necessary  to  wreight  the 
fodder  heavily  in  these  silos,  in  order  to  avoid  the  spoiling  of 
large  quantities  of  silage.  In  Goffart's  silos,  boards  were  thus 
placed  on  top  of  the  siloed  fodder,  and  the  mass  was  weighted  at 
the  rate  of  100  pounds  per  square  foot. 

It  was  found,  however,  after  some  time  that  this  heavy  weight- 
ing could  be  dispensed  with  by  making  the  silos  deep,  and  grad- 
ually the  deep  silos  came  more  and  more  into  use.  These  silos 
were  first  built  in  this  country  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighties; 
at  the  present  time  none  but  silos  at  least  twenty  to  twenty-four 
feet  deep  are  built,  no  matter  of  what  form  or  material  they 
are  made,  and  most  silos  built  are  at  least  twenty-four  to  thirty 
feet  deep  or  more. 

Since  1892  the  cylindrical  form  of  silos  has  become  more  and 
more  general.  These  silos  have  the  advantage  over  all  other 
kinds  in  point  of  cost  and  convenience,  as  well  as  quality  of  the 
silage  obtained.  We  shall,  later  on,  have  an  occasion  to  refer  to 
the'  relative  cost  of  the  various  forms  of  silos,  and  shall  here 
only  mention  a  few  points  in  favor  of  the  round  silos. 

1.  Round  silos  can  be  built  cheaper  than  square  ones,  because 
it  takes  less  lumber  per  cubic  foot  capacity,  and  because  lighter 
material  may  be  used  in  their  construction.     The  sills  and  stud- 
dings  here  do  no  work  except  to  support  the  roof,  since  the  lining 
acts. as  a  hoop  to  prevent  spreading  of  the  walls. 

2.  One  of  the  essentials  in  silo  building  is  that  there  shall  be 
a  minimum  of  surface  and  wall  exposure  of  the  silage,  as  both 
the  cost  and  the  danger  from  losses  through  spoiling  are  thereby 
reduced.      The    round    silos    are    superior    to    all    other    forms    in 
regard  to  this  point,  as  will  be  readily  seen  from  an  example:     A 
rectangular  silo,   16x32x24  feet,   has  the   same  number  of   square 
feet  of  wall  surface  as  a  square  silo,  24x24  feet,  and  of  the  same 
depth,  or  as  a  circular  silo  30  feet  in  diameter  and  of  the  same 
depth;   but  these  silos  will  hold  about  the  following  quantities   of 


28  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

silage:  Rectangular  silo,  246  tons;  square  silo,  276  tons;  circular 
silo,  338  tons.  Less  lumber  will,  therefore,  be  needed  to  hold 
a  certain  quantity  of  silage  in  case  of  square  silos  than  in  case 
of  rectangular  ones,  and  less  for  cylindrical  silos  than  for  square 
ones,  the  cylindrical  form  being,  therefore,  the  most  economical 
of  the  three  types. 

3.  Silage  of  all  kinds  will  usually  begin  to  spoil  after  a  few 
days,  if  left  exposed  to  the  air;  hence  the  necessity  of  considering 
the  extent  of  surface  exposure  of  silage  in  the  silo  while  it  is 
being  fed  out.  In  a  deep  silo  there  is  less  silage  exposed  to  the 
surface  layer  in  proportion  to  the  contents  than  in  a  shallow  one. 
Experience  has  taught  us  that  if  silage  is  fed  down  at  a  rate 
slower  than  1.2  inches  daily,  molding  is  liable  to  set  in.  About 
two  inches  of  the  top  layer  of  the  silage  should  be  fed  out  daily 
during  cold  weather  in  order  to  prevent  the  silage  from  spoiling; 
in  warm  weather  about  three  inches  must  be  taken  off  daily; 
if  a  deeper  layer  of  silage  can  be  fed  off  daily,  there  will  be  less 
waste  of  food  materials;  some  farmers  thus  plan  to  feed  off  5  or  6 
inches  of  silage  daily.  The  form  of  the  silo  must  therefore  be 
planned,  according  to  the  size  of  the  herd,  with  special  reference 
to  this  point.  Professor  King  estimates  that  there  should  be  a 
feeding  surface  in  the  silo  of  about  five  square  feet  per  cow  in 
the  herd;  a  herd  of  thirty  cows  will  then  require  150  square  feet 
of  feeding  surface,  or  the  inside  diameter  of  the  silo  should  be 
14  feet;  for  a  herd  of  forty  cows  a  silo  with  a  diameter  of  16 
feet  will  be  required;  for  fifty  cows,  a  diameter  of  18  feet;  for  one 
hundred  cows,  a  diameter  of  25^  feet,  etc. 

In  choosing  diameters  and  depths  for  silos  for  particular  herds, 
individual  needs  and  conditions  must  decide  which  is  best.  It 
may  be  said,  in  general,  that  for  the  smaller  sizes  of  silos  the 
more  shallow  ones  will  be  somewhat  cheaper  in  construction  and 
be  more  easily  filled  with  small  powers.  For  large  herds  the 
deeper  types  are  best  and  cheapest. 

One  of  the  common  mistakes  made  in  silo  construction  is  that 
of  making  it  too  large  in  diameter  for  the  amount  of  stock  to  be 
fed  silage.  Whenever  silage  heats  and  molds  badly  on  or  below 
the  feeding  surface  heavy  loss  in  feeding  value  is  being  sustained, 
and  in  such  cases  the  herd 'should  be  increased  so  that  the  losses 
may  be  prevented  by  more  rapid  feeding.  (King.) 

In  this  connection  the  following  table  furnished  by  the  Animal 


DIAMETER  AND  DEPTH   OF  THE   SILO. 


29 


Husbandry  Department  of  the  Nebraska  Station  will  be  of  interest. 
It  will  be  noted  that  for  summer  feeding  at  least  15  dairy  cows, 
or  21  beef  cattle,  for  instance,  will  be  necessary  to  consume  the 
525  pounds  of  silage  that  should  be  removed  daily  from  a  10-foot 
diameter  surface  to  keep  it  from  spoiling.  In  winter,  6  or  7  cows 
would  be  sufficient. 

Table    IV. — Rate    of    Feeding    from    Silos    of    Different    Diameters. 


Diam- 
eter, 

Approximate  minimum 
pounds  to  be  fed  daily 

*  Approximate  number  of  the  different  kinds  of  stock 
to  keep  the  silage  from  spoiling  in  summer 

feet 

Summer 

Winter 

Horses 

500-1  b. 
calves 

Stock 
cattle 

Beef 
cattle 

Dairy 
cows 

Sheep 

10 

525 

265 

48 

44 

26 

21 

13 

175 

12 

755 

378 

69 

63 

38 

30 

19 

252 

14 

1,030 

515 

94     |       86 

52 

41 

26 

344 

16 

1,340 

670 

122 

112 

67 

54 

34 

446 

18 

1,700     |        850 

155     |     142 

85 

68 

42 

567 

20 

2,100 

1,050 

191 

175 

105 

84 

53 

700 

*If  the  silo  is  to  be  used  for  winter  feeding  only,  it  will  require 
only  one-half  as  many  of  each  kind  of  stock  to  keep  the  silage  in 
good  condition  as  where  it  is  used  for  summer  feeding. 

The  Nebraska  Station  also  gives  the  following  daily  ration  of 
silage  for  various  kinds  and  weights  of  stock.  It  should  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  these  amounts  are  only  approximate 
and  vary  considerably  in  different  sections  or  under  special  tests. 
At  the  end  of  a  90-day  test  at  the  Brookings,  S.  D.,  station  in 
1912,  yearling  steers  were  consuming  70  pounds  of  silage  per  head 
daily.  (See  page  124.) 

Table    V. — Approximate    Daily    Ration    of    Silage. 


Kind    of    Stock 

Weight 

Fed  per  day 

Horses  — 
Colts                                         

Pounds 
500 

Pounds 
5 

1  200 

I9 

1  300 

10 

Cattle— 
CaJves                         

500 

12 

Stock  CQ.ttl.6       

1  000 

20 

Beef  cows 

1  300 

30 

1000 

40 

1  200 

25 

Sheep  — 
Stock    sheep          

3 

3 

30  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

Location  of  the  Silo. 

The  location  of  the  silo  is  a  matter  of  great  importance,  which 
has  to  be  decided  upon  at  the  start.  The  feeding  of  the  silage  is 
an  every-day  job  during  the  whole  winter  and  spring,  and  twice 
a  day  at  that.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  nearest  available 
place  is  therefore  the  best.  The  silo  should  be  as  handy  to  get 
at  from  the  barn  as  possible.  The  condition  of  the  ground  must 
be  considered.  If  the  ground  is  dry  outside  the  barn,  the  best 
plan  to  follow  is  to  build  the  silo  there,  in  connection  with  the 
barn,  going  four  feet  to  six  feet  below  the  surface,  and  providing 
for  door  opening  directly  into  the  barn.  The  bottom  of  the  silo 
should  be  on  or  below  the  level  where  the  cattle  stand,  and,  if 
practicable,  the  silage  should  be  moved  out  and  placed  before  the 
cows  at  a  single  handling.  While  it  is  important  to  have  the  silo 
near  at  hand,  it  should  be  so  located,  in  case  the  silage  is  used 
for  milk  production,  that  silage  odors  to  not  penetrate  the  whole 
stable,  at  milking  or  other  times.  Milk  is  very  sensitive  to  odors, 
and  unless  care  is  taken  to  feed  silage  after  milking,  and  to  have 
pure  air,  free  from  silage  odor,  in  the  stables  at  the  time  of 
milking,  there  will  be  a  silage  flavor  to  the  milk.  This  will  not 
be  sufficiently  pronounced  to  be  noticed  by  most  people,  and 
some  people  cannot  notice  it  at  all;  but  when  a  person  is  sus- 
picious, he  can  generally  discover  it.  So  far  as  is  known  this 
odor  is  not  discernible  in  either  butter  or  cheese  made  from 
silage-flavored  milk,  nor  does  it  seem  to  affect  the  keeping  qualities 
of  the  milk  in  any  way. 

Different  Types  of  Silo  Structures. 

Silos  may  be  built  of  wood,  stone,  brick,  cement,  tile  or  metal, 
or  partly  of  one  and  partly  of  another  of  these  materials.  Wooden 
silos  may  be  built  of  several  layers  of  thin  boards  nailed  to  up- 
rights, or  of  single  planks  (staves),  or  may  be  plastered  inside. 
The  material  used  will  largely  be  determined  by  local  conditions; 
where  lumber  is  cheap,  and  stone  high,  wooden  silos  will  generally 
be  built;  where  the  opposite  is  true,  stone  or  brick  silos  will  have 
the  advantage  in  point  of  cheapness,  while  concrete  and  clay 
block  silos  are  likely  to  be  preferred  where  great  permanency  is 
desired  or  where  cobble-stones  are  at  hand  in  abundance,  and 
lumber  or  stone  are  hard  to  get  at  a  reasonable  cost.  So  far  as 
the  quality  of  the  silage  made  in  any  of  these  kinds  of  silos  is  con- 


DIFFERENT   TYPES   OF  SILO   STRUCTURES.  31 

cerned,  there  is  no  difference  when  the  silos  are  properly  built. 
The  longevity  of  concrete  and  tile  silos  is  usually  greater  than 
that  of  wooden  silos,  since  the  latter  are  more  easily  attacked 
by  the  silage  juices  and  are  apt  to  decay  in  places  after  a  number 
of  years,  unless  special  precautions  are  taken  to  preserve  them. 
A  well-built  and  well-cared-for  wooden  silo  should,  however,  last 
almost  indefinitely. 

As  regards  the  form  of  the  silo,  it  may  be  built  in  rectangular 
form,  square,  octagon  or  round.  We  have  already  seen  that  the 
most  economical  of  these  is  ordinarily  the  round  form,  both  be- 
cause in  such  silos  there  is  less  wall  space  per  cubic  unit  of 
capacity,  and  in  case  of  wooden  round  silos,  lighter  material  can 
be  used  in  their  construction.  The  only  place  where  silos  of 
square  or  rectangular  form  are  built  now  is  inside  of  barns,  where 
they  fit  in  better  than  a  round  structure.  We  shall  later  on  give 
directions  for  building  silos  inside  of  a  barn,  but  shall  now  go 
over  to  a  discussion  of  the  various  forms  of  round  silos  that  are 
apt  to  be  met  with.  More  round  wooden  silos  have  been  built 
during  late  years  in  this  country  than  of  all  other  kinds  of  silos 
combined,  and  this  type  of  silo,  either  built  of  uprights  lined  in- 
side and  outside  with  two  layers  of  half-inch  boards,  or  of  one 
thickness  of  staves,  will  doubtless  be  the  main  silo  type  of  the 
future;  hence  we  shall  give  full  information  as  to  their  building, 
and  shall  then  briefly  speak  of  the  other  forms  mentioned  which 
may  be  considered  preferable  in  exceptional  cases. 

Round  Wooden  Silos. 

Round  wooden  silos  were  first  described,  and  their  use  advo- 
cated, in  Bulletin  No.  28,  issued  by  the  Wisconsin  Station  in 
July,  1891,  at  a  time  when  lumber  of  a  good  quality  could  be  se- 
cured at.  much  less  cost  than  at  present.  This  type  has  come  to 
be  known  as  the  Wisconsin  or  King  silo,  named  after  the  late 
Prof.  King,  the  originator.  The  first  detailed  and  illustrated  de- 
scription was  published  in  the  above  bulletin;  since  that  time 
it  has  been  described  in  several  bulletins  and  reports  issued  by 
the  Station  mentioned  and  in  numerous  publications  from  other 
Experiment  Stations.  This  type,  and  the  one  to  be  described  in 
the  following,  the  stave  silo,  are  practically  the  only  kind  of 
wooden  silos  that  have  been  built  in  this  country  during  late 
years  except  where  unusual  conditions  have  prevailed  that  would 
make  some  other  kind  of  silo  construction  preferable. 


32  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

The  Kind  of  Woods  for  Silos. — Conclusions  drawn  from  Bulletin 
No.  100,  Iowa  State  College,  place  the  merits  of  woods  for  silo 
use  as  follows:  1,  Redwood;  2,  Cypress;  3,  Oregon  Fir;  4,  Tam- 
arack; 5,  White  Pine;  6,  Long-leaf  Yellow  Pine. 

The  following  description  of  the  King  silo  is  taken  from  Bul- 
letins Nos.  83  and  125  of  the  Wisconsin  Station: 

The  Foundation. — There  should  be  a  good,  substantial  cement 
foundation  for  all  forms  of  wood  silos,  and  the  woodwork  should 
everywhere  be  at  least  12  inches  above  the  earth,  to  prevent  decay 
from  dampness.  There  are  few  conditions  where  it  will  not  be 
desirable  to  have  the  bottom  of  the  silo  3  feet  or  more  below  the 
feeding  floor  of  the  stable,  and  this  will  require  not  less  than  4 
to  6  feet  of  stone,  brick,  or  concrete  wall.  For  a  silo  30  feet  deep 
the  foundation  wall  of  stone  should  be  1.5  to  2  feet  thick. 

Bottom  of  the  Silo. — After  the  silo  has  been  completed  the 
ground  forming  the  bottom  should  be  thoroughly  tamped  so  as  to 
be  solid,  and  then  covered  with  two  or  three  inches  of  good  con- 
crete made  of  1  of  cement  to  3  or  4  of  sand  or  gravel.  The 
amount  of  silage  which  will  spoil  on  a  hard  clay  floor  will  not  be 
large,  but  enough  to  pay  a  good  interest  on  the  money  invested 
in  the  cement  floor.  If  the  bottom  of  the  silo  is  in  dry  sand  or 
gravel  the  cement  bottom  is  imperative  to  shut  out  the  soil  air. 

The  Superstructure. — The  wood  superstructure  of  the  King  silo 
has  a  wall  5  or  6  inches  thick,  whereas  the  foundation  wall  is 
18  to  24  inches  thick;  it  is  evident,  therefore,  that  there  must  be 
a  shoulder  of  the  wall  12  to  19  inches  wide  that  must  project 
either  into  the  silo  pit  or  outward  beyond  the  sill. 

How  to  Place  the  Frame  on  the  Foundation. — Figure  1  illus- 
trates two  methods  of  placing  the  frame  on  the  foundation.  A 
-is  the  right  way.  B  is  the  wrong  way.  In  B  Fig.  1  the  shoulder 
of  the  foundation  wall  projects  into  the  silo  pit.  This  method  is 
permissible  when  the  silo  floor  is  not  more  than  1  foot  below  the 
top  of  the  wall.  If  the  floor  of  the  silo  is  three  feet  or  more  below 
the  top  of  the  wall  as  in  B  Fig.  1,  then  this  shoulder  interferes 
with  the  proper  settling  of  the  silage  and  the  silage  moulds  or 
rots  just  above  the  shoulder  next  to  the  silo  and  usually  below 
the  shoulder  also.  This  rotting  is  commonly  ascribed  to  the  loosen- 
ing of  the  sill  or  the  foundation  allowing  air  to  enter.  In  most 
cases,  however,  it  is  plainly  not  due  to  this  cause,  but  is  due  to  the 
projecting  shoulder  which  interferes  with  the  settling  of  the 


ROUND  WOODEN  SILOS. 


33 


Fig.  1. — Showing  two  methods  of  placing  the  wood,  brick  lined  or 
lathed  and  plastered  silo  on  a  stone  foundation.  A  shows  the 
silo  set  with  upper  portion  flush  with  the  inside  of  the  stone 
wall,  and  B  shows  the  upper  portion  flush  with  the  outside  of 
the  stone  wall.  A  is  the  right  way;  B  is  the  wrong  way. 

silage.  Many  silos  have  been  abandoned  on  this  account,  so 
serious  has  been  the  loss  from  rotting.  This  shoulder  should 
never  project  into  the  silo  pit. 

Forming  the  Sill. — The  sill  may  be  made  of  a  single  2x4  cut 
into  two  foot  lengths  with  the  ends  beveled  so  that  they  may  be 
toe-nailed  together  to  form  a  circle.  Two  other  methods  are  also 
illustrated  in  Fig.  2,  one  being  a  double  thickness  with  broken 
joints  and  the  other  using  pieces  cut  to  the  curvature  of  the  silo. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  latter  construction  eliminates  the  air- 
spaces between  the  silo  and  the  outer  sheeting  which  are  evident 
in  the  first  two  mentioned.  These  spaces  admit  air  so  that  the 
space  between  the  studding  is  not  a  dead  air  space. 

Setting  the  Studding. — The  studding  of  the  all-wood  round  silo 
need  not  be  greater  than  2x4,  but  they  should  be  set  as  close 
together  as  one  foot  from  center  to  center,  as  represented  in 
Fig.  6.  This  number  of  studs  is  not  required  for  strength  but 
they  are  needed  in  order  to  bring  the  two  layers  of  lining  very 


34 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


Fig.  2. — Showing  three  methods  of  making  a  sill  or  plate  for 
Gurler  or  King  Silo.  A  shows  sill  made  of  a  single  thickness 
of  2x4's  cut  in  two-foot  lengths;  B  shows  sill  made  of  two 
thicknesses  of  2x4's  laid  to  break  joints;  C  shows  2x4  sawed 
out  of  2x6  plank.  C  is  the  best  method,  since  the  sheeting  then 
fits  the  sill  making  a  tight  joint,  whereas  in  A  and  B  a  tight 
joint  between  sheeting  and  sill  or  plate  cannot  be  secured.  Ob- 
serve that  the  sill  is  placed  near  the  inner  edge  of  the  founda- 
tion. 


THE  "WISCONSIN"  SILO. 


35 


close  together,  so  as  to   press  the  paper  closely  and  prevent  air 
from  entering  where  the  paper  laps. 

Where  studding  longer  than  20  feet  are  needed,  short  lengths 
may  be  lapped  one  foot  and  simply  spiked  together  before  they 
are  set  in  place  on  the  wall.  This  will  be  cheaper  than  to  pay 
the  higher  price  for  long  lengths.  All  studding  should  be  given  the 
exact  length  desired  before  putting  them  in  place. 


Fig.  3. — Detail  of  construction  of  wall  of  King  silo.  Three  thick- 
nesses of  %"  sheeting  inside  with  2  thicknesses  of  acid-proof 
paper,  and  on  the  outside  one  thickness  of  sheeting,  1  of  tar 
felt,  and  1  of  clap  boards.  Observe  that  the  shoulder  of  the 
foundation  is  outside. 


36 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


To  stay  the  studding  a  post  should  be  set  in  the  ground  in  the 
center  of  the  silo  long  enough  to  reach  about  five  feet  above  the 
sill,  and  to  this  stays  may  be  nailed  to  hold  in  place  the  alternate 
studs  until  the  lower  five  feet  of  outside  sheeting  has  been  put  on. 
The  studs  should  be  set  first  at  the  angles  formed  in  the  sill  and 
carefully  stayed  and  plumbed  on  the  side  toward  the  center.  When 
a  number  of  these  have  been  set  they  should  be  tied  together 
by  bending  a  strip  of  half-inch  sheeting  around  the  outside  as 
high  up  as  a  man  can  reach,  taking  care  to  plumb  each  stud  on 
the  side  before  nailing.  When  the  alternate  studs  have  been  set 
in  this  way  the  balance  may  be  placed  and  toe-nailed  to  the 
sill  and  stayed  to  the  rib,  first  plumbing  them  sideways  and 
toward  the  center. 

Setting  Studding  for  Doors. — On  the  side  of  the  silo  where  the 
doors  are  to  be  placed  the  studding  should  be  set  double  and  the 


Fig.  6. — Showing  the  plan  of  studding  for  the  all-wood,  brick-lined 
or  lathed-and-plastered  silo. 


THE   "WISCONSIN"   SILO. 


37 


distance  apart  to  give  the  desired  width.  A  stud  should  be  set 
between  the  two  door  studs  as  though  no  door  were  to  be  there, 
and  the  doors  cut  out  at  the  places  desired  afterwards.  The  con- 
struction of  the  door  is  represented  in  Fig.  7. 

The  doors  are  usually  made  about  2  feet  wide  and  from  2% 
to  3  feet  high,  and  placed  one  above  the  other  at  suitable  dis- 
tances apart.  It  has  been  suggested  that  to  insure  security  a 
strip  of  tar  paper  should  be  placed  the  entire  length  of  the  silo 
on  the  inside  over  the  doors. 


II 


Fig.  7. — Showing  the  construction  of  the  door  for  the  all-wood  silo. 


38  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

Silo  Sheeting  and  Siding. — The  character  of  the  siding  and 
sheeting  will  vary  considerably  according  to  conditions  and  the 
size  of  the  silo. 

Where  the  diameter  of  the  silo  is  less  than  18  feet  inside  and 
not  much  attention  need  be  paid  to  frost,  a  single  layer  of  beveled 
siding,  rabbetted  on  the  inside  of  the  thick  edge,  deep  enough 
to  receive  the  thin  edge  of  the  board  below,  will  be  all  that  is 
absolutely  necessary  on  the  outside  for  strength  and  protection 
against  weather. 

If  basswood  is  used  for  siding,  care  should  be  taken  to  paint 
it  at  once,  otherwise  it  will  warp  badly  if  it  gets  wet  before 
painting. 

In  applying  the  sheeting  begin  at  the  bottom,  carrying  the 
work  upward  until  staging  is  needed,  following  this  at  once  with 
the  siding.  Two  8-penny  nails  should  be  used  in  each  board  in 
every  stud,  and  to  prevent  the  walls  from  getting  "out  of  round" 
the  succeeding  course  of  boards  should  begin  on  the  next  stud, 
thus  making  the  ends  of  the  boards  break  joints.  , 

When  the  stagings  are  put  up,  new  stays  should  be  tacked 
to  the  studs  above,  taking  care  to  plumb  each  one  from  side 
to  side;  the  siding  itself  will  bring  them  into  place  and  keep  them 
plumb  the  other  way,  if  care  is  taken  to  start  new  courses  as 
described  above. 

Forming  the  Plate. — When  the  last  staging  is  up  the  plate 
should  be  formed  by  spiking  2x4's  cut  in  two-foot  lengths,  in  the 
manner  of  the  sill,  and  as  represented  in  Fig.  8,  down  upon  the 
tops  of  the  studs,  using  two  courses,  making  the  second  break 
joints  with  the  first.  A  still  better  method  is  to  use  2x6  plank, 
cut  to  the  circle  as  shown  in  C,  Fig.  2. 

The  Lining  of  the  Wooden  Silo. — There  are  several  ways  of 
making  a  good  lining  for  the  all-wood  round  silo,  but  whichever 
method  is  adopted  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  there  are  two 
very  important  ends  to  be  secured  with  a  certainty.  These  are 
(1)  a  lining  which  shall  be  and  remain  strictly  air-tight,  (2)  a 
lining  which  will  be  reasonably  permanent. 

Lining  of  Half-inch  Boards  and  Paper. — Where  paper  is  used 
to  make  the  joints  between  boards  air-tight,  as  represented  in 
Fig.  3,  it  is  extremely  important  that  a  quality  which  will  not 
decay,  and  which  is  both  acid  and  water-proof  be  used.  A  paper 


THE   "WISCONSIN"   SILO. 


39 


which  is  not  acid  and  water-proof  will  disintegrate  at  the  joints 
in  a  very  short  time,  and  thus  leave  the  lining  very  defective. 

The  best  paper  for  silo  purposes  with  which  we  are  acquainted 
is  a  3-ply  Giant  P.  and  B.  brand  manufactured  by  the  Standard 
Paint  Co.,  of  Chicago  and  New  York.  It  is  thick,  strong,  and  acid 
and  water-proof.  A  silo  lining  with  two  thicknesses  of  good 
fencing  having  only  small  knots,  and  these  thoroughly  sound  and 
not  black,  will  make  an  excellent  lining.  Great  care  should  be 
taken  to  have  the  two  layers  of  boards  break  joints  at  their 
centers,  and  the  paper  should  lap  not  less  than  8  to  12  inches. 

The  great  danger  with  this  type  of  lining  will  be  that  the 
boards  may  not  press  the  two  layers  of  paper  together  close 


Fig.  8. — Showing  construction  of  conical  roof  of  round  silo,  where 
rafters  are  not  used.  The  outer  circle  is  the  lower  edge  of  the 
roof,  the  second  is  the  plate,  the  third  and  fourth  circles  are 
hoops  to  which  the  roof  boards  are  nailed.  The  view  is  a  plan 
looking  up  from  the  under  side. 


40 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


enough  but  that  some  air  may  arise  between  the  two  sheets 
where  they  overlap,  and  thus  gain  access  to  the  silage.  It  would 
be  an  excellent  precaution  to  take  to  tack  down  closely  with 
small  carpet  tacks  the  edges  of  the  paper  where  they  overlap,  and 
if  this  is  done  a  lap  of  4  inches  will  be  sufficient. 

The  first  layer  of  lining  should  be  put  on  with  8-penny  nails, 
two  in  each  board  and  stud,  and  the  second  or  inner  layer  with 
10-penny  nails,  the  fundamental  object  being  to  draw  the  two 
layers  of  boards  as  closely  together  as  possible. 

Such  a  lining  as  this  will  be  very  durable  because  the  paper 
will  keep  all  the  lumber  dry  except  the  inner  layer  of  half-inch 
boards,  and  this  will  be  kept  wet  by  the  paper  and  silage  until 
empty,  and  then  the  small  thickness  of  wood  will  dry  too  quickly 
to  permit  rotting  to  set  in. 

A  still  more  substantial  lining  of  the  same  type  may  be  se- 
cured by  using  two  layers  of  paper  between  three  layers  of  boards, 
as  represented  in  Fig.  3,  and  if  the  climate  is  not  extremely  severe, 
or  if  the  silo  is  only  to  be  fed  from  in  the  summer,  it  would 
be  better  to  d'o  away  with  the  layer  of  sheeting  and  paper  outside, 
putting  on  the  inside,  thus  securing  two  layers  of  paper  and  three 
layers  of  boards  for  the  lining  with  the  equivalent  of  only  2  inches 
of  lumber. 

The  Silo  Roof. — Roofs  on  silos  make  big  savings  in  keeping 
the  silage  from  drying  out  and  blowing  around.  They  keep 


Pig.   9. — Showing   construction   and    details   of   one    style   of   roof. 
(From  Nebr.  Bui.  No.  138.) 


THE '"WISCONSIN"   SILO.  41 

the  wind  out  and  make  the  silo  warm  in  winter,  free  from  snow 
and  freezing1,  and  the  silage  in  good  shape  for  feeding. 

The  roof  of  cylindrical  silos  may  be  made  in  several  ways,  but 
the  simplest  type  of  construction  and  the  one  requiring-  the  least 
amount  of  material  is  that  represented  in  Fig.  8,  which  is  the  cone. 

If  the  silo  is  not  larger  than  15  feet  inside  diameter  no  rafters 
need  be  used,  and  only  a  single  circle  like  that  in  the  center  of 
Fig.  8,  this  is  made  of  2-inch  stuff  cut  in  sections  in  the  form 
of  a  circle  and  two  layers  spiked  together,  breaking  joints. 

The  roof  boards  are  put  on  by  nailing  them  to  the  inner  circle 
and  to  the  plate,  as  shown  in  the  drawing,  the  boards  having-  been 
sawed  diagonally,  making-  the  wide  and  narrow  ends  the  same 
relative  widths  as  the  circumference  of  the  outer  edge  of  the 
roof  and  of  the  inner  circle.  Thus  a  10-foot  board  8  inches  wide 
would  be  sawed  so  as  to  make  two  10-foot  lengths,  each  being  6% 
inches  wide  at  one  end  and  1%  inches  wide  at  the  other. 

If  the  silo  has  an  inside  diameter  exceeding  15  feet  it  will  be 
necessary  to  use  two  or  three  hoops  according  to  diameter. 

The  conical  roof  may  be  covered  with  ordinary  shingles,  split- 
ting those  wider  than  8  inches.  By  laying  the  butts  of  the  shingles 
Vs  to  %  of  an  inch  apart  it  is  not  necessary  to  taper  any  of  the 
shingles  except  a  few  courses  near  the  peak  of  the  roof. 

The  prepared  roofings,  such  as  "Ruberoid'r  or  "Paroid"  or  pre-. 
pared  gravel  roofing  are  preferred  to  shingles  for  a  silo  roof,  since 
they  make  a  tighter  roof  which  retains  the  heat  in  winter. 

In  laying  the  shingles  to  a  true  circle,  and  with  the  right 
exposure  to  the  weather,  a  good  method  is  to  use  a  strip  of 
wood  as  a.  radius  which  works  on  a  center  set  at  the  peak  of  the 
roof  and  provided  with  a  nail  or  pencil  to  make  a  mark  on  the 
shingle  where  the  butts  of  the  next  course  are  to  come.  The 
radius  may  be  bored  with  a  series  of  holes  the  right  distance 
apart  to  slip  over  the  center  pivot,  or  the  nail  may  be  drawn  and 
reset  as  desired.  Some  carpenters  file  a  notch  in  the  shingling 
hatchet,  and  use  this  to  bring  the  shingle  to  place. 

Ventilation  of  the  Silo. 

Every  silo  which  has  a  roof  should  be  provided  with  ample 
ventilation  to  keep  the  under  side  of  the  roof  dry,  and  in  the  case 
of  wood  silos,  to  prevent  the  walls  and  lining  from  rotting1.  One 


42  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

of  the  most  serious  mistakes  in  the  early  construction  of  wood 
silos  was  the  making  of  the  walls  \vith  dead-air  spaces,  wrhich, 
on  account  of  dampness  from  the  silage,  led  to  rapid  "dry-rot" 
of  the  lining. 

In  the  wood  silo  and  in  the  brick  lined  silo  it  is  important  to 
provide  ample  ventilation  for  the  spaces  between  the  studs,  as 
well  as  for  the  roof  and  the  inside  of  the  silo,  and  a  good  method 
of  doing  this  is  represented  in  Fig.  4,  where  the  lower  portion 
represents  the  sill  and  the  upper  the  plate  of  the  silo.  Between 
each  pair  of  studs  where  needed  a  l^-inch  auger  hol.3  to  admit 
air  is  bored  through  the  siding  and  sheeting  and  covered  with 
a.  piece  of  wire  netting  to  keep  out  mice  and  rats.  At  'the  top  of 
the  silo  on  the  inside,  the  lining  is  only  covered  to  within  two 
inches  of  the  plate  and  this  space  is  covered  with  wire  n  tting 
to  prevent  silage  from  being  thrown  over  when  filling.  This 
arrangement  permits  dry  air  from  outside  to  enter  at  the  bottom 
between  each  pair  of  studs  and  to  pass  up  and  into  the  silo,  thus 
keeping  the  lining  and  studding  dry  and  at  the  same  time  drying 
the  under  side  of  the  roof  and  the  inside  of  the  lining  as  fast  as 
exposed.  In  those  cases  where  the  sill  is  made  of  2x4's  cut  in 
2-foot  lengths  there  will  be  space  enough  left  between  the  curved 
edge  of  the  siding  and  sheeting  and  the  sill  for  air  to  enter  so  that 
no  holes  need  be  bored  as  describ  d  above  and  represented  in 
Pig.  4.  The  openings  at  the  plate  should  always  be  provided  and 
the  silo  should  have  some  sort  of  ventilator  in  the  roof.  This 
ventilator  may  take  the  form  of  a  cupola  to  serve  for  an  orna- 
ment as  well,  or  it  may  be  a  simple  galvanized  iron  pipe  12  to  24 
inches  in  diameter,  rising  a  foot  or  two  through  the  peak  of  the 
roof. 

A  word  of  caution  is  sounded  in  the  Wisconsin  Bulletin  No. 
125  regarding  the  above  method  of  ventilation: 

"It  will  be  readily  understood  that  if  these  ventilators  between 
the  studs  are  left  open  in  winter  they  will  act  as  chimneys:  they 
will  maintain  a  constant  draft,  between  the  studding,  which  will 
cool  off  and  freeze  the  silage  more  severely  than  it  would  if  there 
were  no  sheeting  at  all  outside  the  studding.  If  the  silage  is  for 
winter  feeding,  and  99  per  cent  of  the  silage  is  so  fed,  then  more 
care  should  be  exercised  than  at  present  in  Wisconsin  to  prevent 
this  severe  freezing.  In  order  to  do  this,  provision  must  be  made 
for  closing  these  ventilators  both  at  the  top  and  at  the  bottom, 


THE  "WISCONSIN"   SILO. 


43 


Fig.  4. — Showing  the  method  of  ventilating  between  studding.  An 
auger  hole  is  bored  through  the  outer  siding  just  above  sill, 
between  each  pair  of  studding  as  at  X,  and  a  screen  nailed 
over  hole  inside  to  keep  out  mice.  A  similar  hole  is  bored 
through  the  inner  sheeting  between  each  pair  of  studs  at  the 
top  of  the  silo  just  under  the  plates,  as  at  W.  Auger  holes  are 
used  at  X  and  W,  so  that  the  holes  may  be  closed  in  cold 
weather  with  corks. 


44:  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

so  as  to  convert  the  hollow  wall  into  a  real  dead-air  space.  There 
is  no  need  of  building  the  wall  air-tight  outside,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
3,  with  two  thickness  of  sheeting  with  paper  between,  unless  there 
is  provision  for  closing  the  ventilators  in  winter. 

"The  writer  has  seen  a  number  of  these  silos  in  which  the 
silage  froze  severely.  In  most  instances  no  attempt  was  made 
to  close  the  ventilators,  and  the  few  instances  when  it  was  at- 
tempted only  the  lower  ventilators  on  the  outside  were  closed. 
This  is  not  enough  for  if  the  upper  ventilators  at  W,  Fig.  4,  are 
left  open  the  hollow  wall  will  cool  off  rapidly  and  the  air  space 
serve  no  purpose  as  protection  against  frost. 

"The  invention  of  the  King  silo  came  in  response  to  an  urgent 
demand  for  a  type  of  construction  that  would  avoid  the  corners 
and  other  serious  and  aggravating  defects  of  silos,  as  previously 
constructed.  It  marked  an  epoch  in  silo  building.  Hundreds  of 
silos  of  this  type  have  been  constructed.  They  have  not  been 
confined  to  Wisconsin,  but  have  been  widely  distributed.  They 
have  been  in  use  the  past  ten  years,  and  have  demonstrated 
their  success.  They  are  no  longer  an  experiment.  However,  the 
very  wide  and  general  use  of  this  type  of  silo  under  a  great 
variety  of  conditions  of  climate  and  local  environment  has  brought 
out  some  of  the  demerits  of  this  type  of  construction  which  at 
the  outset  could  not  have  been  foreseen.  For  instance,  the  wood 
lining  has  been  found  less  satisfactory  than  cement,  and  hence 
it  is  recommended  that  these  silos  be  cement  lined.  Many  of  the 
King  silos  are  lathed  and  plastered  and  have  proven  very  satis- 
factory, having  done  service  for  ten  years. 

"Clap  boards  have  been  found  unsatisfactory  for  the  outer 
siding  and  it  is  recommended  that  steel  siding  or  some  of  the 
roofing  paper,  ruberoid,  or  lath  and  plaster  be  used  in  their  stead 
as  will  be  described  later." 

Painting1  the  Silo  Lining. 

It  is  impossible  to  so  paint  a  wood  lining  that  it  will  not  become 
wholly  or  partly  saturated  with  the  silage  juices.  This  being  true, 
when  the  lining  is  again  exposed  when  feeding  the  silage  out. 
the  paint  greatly  retards  the  drying  of  the  wood  work  and  the 
result  is  decay  sets  in,  favored  by  prolonged  dampness.  For  this 
reason  it  is  best  to  leave  a  wood  lining  naked  or  to  use  some  anti- 
septic which  does  not  form  a  water-proof  coat. 


THE  "WISCONSIN"  SILO.  45 

The  cost  of  such  a  silo  as  that  described  .in  the  foregoing 
pages,  is  estimated  by  Prof.  King  at  about  12  cents  per  square 
foot  of  outside  surface,  when  the  lining  consists  of  two  layers 
of  half-inch  split  fencing,  with  a  3-ply  Giant  P.  and  B.  paper  be- 
tween, and  with  one  layer  of  split  fencing  outside,  covered  with 
rabbetted  house  siding.  If  built  inside  of  the  barn,  without  a  roof 
and  not  painted,  the  cost  would  be  reduced  3  cents  per  square  foot, 
or  more.  Silos  of  this  type,  30  feet  deep,  built  outside,  provided 
with  a  roof  and  including  6  feet  of  foundations  are  stated  to  cost 
as  follows:  13  feet  inside  diameter  (80  tons  capacity),  $183.00; 
15  feet  diameter  (105  tons  capacity),  $211.00;  21  feet  diameter 
(206  tons  capacity),  $298.00;  and  25  feet  diameter  (300  tons 
capacity),  $358.00. 

Complete  specifications  and  building  plans  for  a  300-ton  silo, 
of  the  kind  described  in  the  preceding  pages,  are  given  in  Prof. 
Woll's  Book  on  Silage.  The  dimensions  of  this  silo  are:  Diameter, 
26  feet;  height,  30  feet. 

According  to  our  present  knowledge  this  form  of  silo  is  most 
likely  the  best  that  can  be  built;  it  is  a  somewhat  complicated 
structure,  calls  for  more  time  and  skill  for  its  construction,  and 
costs  more  than  other  kinds  of  wooden  circular  silos,  especially 
more  than  the  stave  silo  soon  to  be  described;  but  once  built 
needs  but  little  attention  and  it  is  durable  and  economical;  being 
practically  air-tight,  the  losses  of  food  materials  in  the  siloed 
fodder  are  reduqed  to  a  minimum. 

Modifications  of  the  Wisconsin  Silo. 

Several  modifications  of  the  Wisconsin  Silo  have  been  proposed 
and  have  given  good  satisfaction;  one  is  described  by  Prof. 
Plumb  in  Purdue  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.  91,  as  follows: 

The  studs  are  18  inches  apart,  and  for  about  half  way  up  there 
are  three  layers  of  sheeting  against  the  studs  with  tarred  paper 
between.  The-  upper  half  of  the  studs  has  but  two  layers  of 
sheeting.  The  sheeting  was  made  by  taking  2x6-inch  white  pine 
planks  and  sawing  to  make  four  boards.  The  silo  rests  on  a 
stone  wall  18  inches  deep  and  16  inches  wide.  It  is  30  feet  high, 
18  feet  4  inches  inside  diameter,  and  holds  about  150  tons.  An 
inexpensive  but  durable  roof  was  placed  upon  it.  The  cost  of 
this  structure,  is  as  follows:  As  the  work  was  all  done  by  the 


46  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

regular  farm  help  at  odd  hours,  the  item  of  labor  is  given  at 
estimated  cost:'  Studding-,  $13.03;  sheeting,  $63.00;  5  rolls  of 
paper,  $6.25;  nails,  $2.40;  cement  for  wall,  $2.40;  labor,  $20.00; 
total,  $107.08.  The  owner  of  the  silo  was  so  pleased  with  the 
service  this  one  had  rendered  since  its  construction,  that  he  built 
another  like  it  during  the  summer  of  1902.  This  silo  is  connected 
by  a  covered  passage  and  chute  with  the  feeding  floor  of  the 
cattle  barn. 

The  construction  of  this  type  of  silo  calls  for  as  much  care 
in  putting  on  sheeting,  making  doors  and  keeping  out  the  air  at 
these  places  and  at  the  foundation,  as  is  required  with  the  more 
expensive  forms  previously  described.  The  need  for  outer  siding 
will  depend  in  a  large  measure  on  circumstances.  The  farmer 
building  the  silo  (living  in  Central  Indiana)  has  had  no  trouble 
with  his  silage  freezing.  In  Northern  Indiana  the  siding  would 
naturally  be  more  necessary  than  in  the  southern  part  of  this 
state,  but  generally  speaking,  siding  is  not  necessary,  although  it 
does  materially  add  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  silo. 

Plastered  Round  Wooden  Silos. 

Plastered  round  wooden  silos  have  met  with  favor  among 
farmers  who  have  tried  them,  and  are  preferred  by  many  for 
either  the  original  or  the  modified  Wisconsin  silo,  on  account  of 
their  ease  of  construction  and  their  durability.  In  the  experience 
of  H.  B.  Gurler,  a  well  known  Illinois  dairyman,  who  has  built 
several  silos  on  his  farm  in  the  course  of  the  last  dozen  years,  the 
walls  of  plastered  silos  keep  perfectly  and  there  is  no  waste 
from  moldy  silage  along  the  wall;  neither  is  there  any  difficulty 
about  cracking  of  the  plaster,  if  this  is  put  on  properly  and  a 
good  quality  of  cement  is  used.  Gurler  described  the  construc- 
tion of  his  plastered  silo  in  Breeder's  Gazette,  accompanying  his 
description  with  building  plans  of  his  silo.  We  have  reproduced 
the  latter  changed  and  improved  in  some  points  of  minor  im- 
portance, and  give  below  a  brief  description  of  the  method  of 
building  silos  of  this  type.  (See  Pigs.  10  and  11.) 

The  foundation  may  be  made  of  stone,  brick  or  cement,  and 
is  carried  to  the  proper  distance  above  ground.  Sills  composed 
of  pieces  of  2x4,  two  feet  long,  beveled  at  the  ends  so  as  to  be 
toe-nailed  together  to  form  a  circle  of  the  same  diameter  as  the 


THE  "WISCONSIN"   SILO. 


47 


interior  diameter  of  the  silo,  are  placed  on  the  foundation  bedded 
in  asphalt  or  cemented  mortar,  and  on  this  the  studding  is 
erected,  using  two  by  fours,  placed  15  or  16  inches  apart.  Inside 
sheeting  was  secured  by  having  6-inch  fencing  re- sawed,  making 
the  material  a  little  less  than  %-inch  thick.  On  this  was  nailed 
laths  made  from  the  same  material,  the  laths  being  made  with 
beveled  edges  so  that  when  nailed  onto  the  sheeting  horizontally, 
the  same  way  as  the  sheeting  is  put  on,  there  are  dove-tailed 
joints  between  the  laths  to  receive  the  cement,  preventing  its 
loosening  until  it  is  broken.  The  patent  grooved  lath  might  be 
used,  but  they  cannot  be  sprung  to  a  twenty-foot  circle.  Better 
than  either  kind  of  wooden  laths,  however,  is  wire  netting  or 
metal  lath  of  one  form  or  another,  such  as  is  now  generally  used 
in  outside  plastering  of  houses,  nailed  on  strips  of  Ix2's  which  are 
placed  15  inches  apart,  and  nailed  onto  the  studding  through  the 
sheeting.  Metal  lath  will  not  take  up  moisture  from  the  silage 
juices,  and  thus  expand  and  possibly  cause  the  plaster  to  crack, 


***-*»       ^ 

Fig.    10. — Elevation    and    section    of   plastered    round    wooden    silo. 


48 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


as  would  be  likely  to  occur  in  case  of  wooden  laths.  For  outside 
sheeting-  similar  material  to  that  used  for  inside  sheeting  may 
be  used.  If  built  inside  of  a  barn  or  in  a  sheltered  place,  no  out- 
side sheeting  would  be  required,  although  it  would  add  greatly  to 
the  looks  of  the  silo.  Not  being  certain  that  the  inside  sheeting, 
laths  and  cement  offered  sufficient  resistance  to  the  outward 
pressure  in  the  silo,  Mr.  Gurler  put  on  wooden  hoops  outside  of 
the  studding,  of  the  same  material  as  for  the  inside  she  ting, 
putting  it  on  double  thickness  and  breaking  joints.  The  silo  de- 
scribed, which  would  hold  250-300  tons,  cost  $300,  without  a  roof. 
Mr.  Gurler  considers  this  silo  the  best  that  can  be  built,  and 
estimates  that  it  will  last  for  at  least  fifty  years,  if  given  a  wash 
of  cement  every  three  years  and  if  any  cracks  that  may  start 
be  filled  before  the  silo  is  filled  again. 

The  Gurler  silo  uses  much  less  lumber  than  the  Wisconsin  or 
King  silo,  one  thickness  of  sheeting  instead  of  four  or  five  thick- 
nesses being  sufficient.  The  Gurler  must  be  cement  lined,  how- 


Fig.  11. — Foundation   plan  and  section  of  plastered  round  wooden 
silo. 


THE   "WISCONSIN"   SILO. 


49 


50  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

ever,  but  it  is  cheaper  as  to  first  cost  and  is  the  more  durable. 
It  was  designed  primarily  for  use  inside  some  other  building, 
whereas  the  Wisconsin  silo  is  intended  to  stand  outside. 

Brick  Lined  Silos. 

As  an  illustration  of  silos  of  this  type  we  give  below  a  de- 
scription  of  the  silo  built  in  connection  with  the  Dairy  Barn  of 
the  Wisconsin  Experimental  Station;  the  accompanying  figures, 
12  and  13,  will  show  the  exterior  appearance  of  the  barn  and 
silo,  and  a  plan  of  the  eastern  half  of  the  first  floor  of  this  barn. 

The  silo  is  circular  in  form..  18  feet  inside  diameter  and  33 
feet  deep.  It  is  a  framed  structure  lined  inside  and  outside  with 
brick.  On  2x6-inch  uprights,  two  wrappings  of  %-inch  stuff,  6 
inches  wide,  are  put,  breaking  joints,  with  no  paper  between. 
Brick  is  laid  tight  against  this  lining,  and  on  the  brick  surface  is 
a  heavy  coating  of  Portland  cement  (1  part  cement,  1  part  sand) 
On  the  outside  brick  is  laid  up  against  the  lining  with  a  small 
open  space  between  (about  %  inch).  The  silo  is  filled  from  the 
third  floor  of  the  barn,  the  loads  of  corn  being  hauled  directly 
onto  this  floor  over  the  trestle  shown  to  the  right  in  Fig.  12,  and 
there  run  through  the  feed  cutter.  When  the  silage  is  taken  out 
for  feeding,  it  falls  through  a  box  chute  to  the  main  floor  where  it 
is  received  into  a  truck  (Pig.  54)  in  which  it  is  conveyed  to  the 
mangers  of  the  animals. 

An  illustration  and  description  of  the  original  round  silo,  with 
a  capacity  of  90  tons,  built  at  the  same  Station  in  1891,  are  given 
in  Prof.  Woll's  Book  on  Silage,  where  descriptions  and  illustra- 
tions of  a  number  of  other  first-class  round  wooden  silos  will  also 
be  found,  like  those  constructed  at  the  Experiment  Stations  in 
New  Jersey,  Missouri,  and  South  Dakota. 

Stave  Silos. 

The  stave  silo  is  the  simplest  type  of  separate  silo  buildings, 
and  partly  for  this  reason,  partly  on  account  of  its  cheapness  of 
construction,  more  silos  of  this  kind  have  been  built  during  the 
past  few  years  than  any  other  silo  type. 

Since  their  first  introduction  Stave  Silos  have  been  favorably 
mentioned  by  most  writers  on  agricultural  topics,  as  well  as  by 
experiment  station  men.  In  the  recent  bulletin  from  Cornell  Ex- 


BRICK  LINED  SILOS. 


51 


52 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


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11 


THE  STAVE   SILO.  53 

periment  Station,  we  find  the  stave  silo  spoken  of  as  "the  most 
practical  and  successful  silo  which  can  be  constructed,"  and  the 
Ottawa  Experiment  Station  is  on  record  for  the  following  state- 
ment in  regard  to  the  stave  silo:  "From  extensive  observation 
and  study  of  silos  and  silo  construction,  and  from  experience  here 
with  a  number  of  different  silos,  it  would  appear  that  the  stave 
silo  is  the  form  of  cheap  silos  that  for  various  reasons  is  most 
worthy  of  recommendation.  It  combines  simplicity  and  cheapness 
of  construction  with  the  requisite  conditions  to  preserve  the 
silage  in  the  very  best  condition  for  feeding." 

Stave  silos  are,  generally  speaking,  similar  to  large  railroad 
or  fermentation  tanks,  and  to  make  satisfactory  silos  should  be 
built  as  well  as  a  No.  1  water  tank.  The  first  stave  silos  were 
built  in  this  country  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineties;  they  soon 
found  some  enthusiastic  friends,  while  most  people,  including 
nearly  all  writers  and  lecturers  on  silo  construction,  were  in- 
clined to  be  skeptical  as  to  their  practicability.  It  was  objected 
that  the  staves  would  expand  so  as  to  burst  the  hoops  when  the 
silo  was  filled  with  green  fodder;  that  they  would  shrink  after 
having  been  left  empty  during  the  summer  months,  so  that  the 
silo  would  fall  to  pieces,  or  at  least  so  that  it  could  not  again 
be  made  air-tight;  and  finally,  that  the  silage  would  freeze  in 
such  silos,  and  its  feeding  value  thereby  be  greatly  lowered.  In 
addition  to  this,  it  was  claimed  that  a  substantial  stave  silo 
would  cost  as  much  as  a  first  class  ordinary  all-wood  silo  of  the 
same  capacity,  which  would  not  have  the  objectionable  features  of 
the  former. 

In  spite  of  these  objections  the  stave  silo  has,  however,  grad- 
ually gained  ground,  until  of  late  years  it  has  quite  generally 
been  adopted  in  preference  to  other  kinds  of  silos,  particularly  in 
the  Eastern  and  Central  states.  This  being  a  fact,  it  follows  that 
the  objections  previously  made  to  the  stave  silos  cannot  be  valid, 
that  the  staves  do  not  swell  so  as  to  burst  the  hoops,  or  shrink 
so  as  to  cause  the  silo  to  fall  to  pieces,  or  become  leaky.  As  re- 
gards the  danger  from  freezing  of  the  silage,  the  criticisms  of  the 
stave  silo  are  in  order,  as  silage  in  outdoor  stave  silos  will  be 
likely  to  freeze  in  cold  weather,  in  any  of  the  northern  states  or 
Canada;  but,  according  to  the  testimony  of  farmers  who  have 
had  experience  with  frozen  silage,  this  is  more  an  inconvenience 
than  a  loss.  The  freezing  does  not  injure  the  feeding  value  of 


54  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

the  silage,   or  its  palatability.     When  the  silage   is   thawed   out  it 
is  as  good  as  ever,  and  eaten  by  cattle  with  a  relish. 

Why  Stave  Silos  Have  Become  Numerous. 

The  main  reason  why  stave  silos  have  been  preferred  by  the 
majority  of  farmers  during  late  years  are  that  they  can  be  put 
up  easily,  quickly  and  cheaply,  and  the  expense  for  a  small  silo 
of  this  kind  is  comparatively  small.  Many  a  farmer  has  built  a 
stave  silo  who  could  not  afford  to  build  a  high-priced  silo,  and 
others  have  preferred  to  build  two  small  silos  for  one  large  one, 
or  a  small  one  in  addition  to  an  old,  larger  one  that  they  may 
already  have.  Manufacturing  firms  have,  furthermore,  made  a 
specialty  of  stave  silo  construction,  and  pushed  the  sale  of  such 
silos  through  advertisements  and  neat  circulars.  Having  made  a 
special  business  of  the  building  of  stave  silos,  and  having  had 
several  years'  experience  as  to  the  requirements  and  precautions 
to  be  observed  in  building  such  silos,  these  firms  furnish  silos 
complete  with  all  necessary  fixtures,  that  are  greatly  superior  to 
any  which  a  farmer  would  be  apt  to  build  according  to  more  or 
less  incomplete  directions. 

It  follows  that  the  stave  silos  sent  out  by  manufacturing  firms 
will  generally  be  more  expensive  than  such  a  farmer  can  build 
himself,  because  they  are  built  better.  It  does  not  pay  to  build 
a  poor  silo,  however,  except  to  bridge  over  an  emergency.  Poor, 
cheap  silos  are  a  constant  source  of  annoyance,  expense  and 
trouble,  whether  built  square,  rectangular  or  round.  The  cheap 
silos  described  in  other  places  of  this  book  have  not  been  given 
for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  the  building  of  such  silos,  but 
rather  to  show  that  if  a  farmer  cannot  afford  to  build  a  perma- 
nent good  silo,  he  is  not  necessarily  barred  from  the  advantages 
of  having  silage  for  his  stock,  since  a  temporary  silo  may  be  built 
at  a  small  cash  outlay. 

We  can  therefore  consistently  recommend  that  parties  intend- 
ing to  build  stave  silos  patronize  the  manufacturers  who  have 
made  silo  construction  a  special  business.  These  firms  furnish 
all  necessary  silo  fittings,  with  complete  directions  for  putting 
up  the  silos,  and,  if  desired,  also  skilled  help  to  superintend  their 
building.  Perhaps  a  large  majority  of  the  farmers  of  the  country 
cannot,  however,  patronize  manufacturers  of  stave  silos  because 
the  expense  of  shipping  the  lumber  and  fixtures  would  be  pro- 


THE  STAVE  SILO.  55 

hibitory.  For  the  convenience  of  such  parties  and  others  who 
may  prefer  to  build  their  own  stave  silos,  directions  for  their 
construction  are  given  in  the  following:  The  specifications  for  a 
100-ton  stave  silo,  printed  below,  which  are  taken  from  Woll's 
Book  on  Silage,  were  furnished  by  Claude  &  Starck,  Architects, 
Madison,  Wisconsin. 

Specifications  for  100-ton  Stave  Silo. 

MASONRY. 

Excavate  the  entire  area  to  be  occupied  by  the  silo  to  a  depth 
of  6  inches;  excavate  for  foundation  wall  to  a  depth  of  16  inches; 
in  this  trench  build  a  wall  18  inches  wide  and  20  inches  high,  of 
field  stone  laid  in  rich  lime  mortar.  Level  off  top  and  plaster  in- 
side, outside  and  on  top  with  cement  mortar,  1  part  cement  to  1 
part  sand.  Pill  inside  area  with  four  inches  of  good  gravel,  thor- 
oughly tamped  down;  after  the  wood  work  is  in  place  coat  this 
with  one  inch  of  cement  mortar,  1  part  cement  to  1  part  clean 
sand.  Cement  shall  be  smoothly  finished,  dished  well  to  the 
center  and  brought  up  at  least  2  inches  all  around  inside  and 
outside  walls. 

CARPENTRY. 

All  staves  shall  be  26  feet  long  in  two  pieces,  breaking  joints, 
and  made  from  clear,  straight-grained  cypress,  2x6  inches,  bev- 
eled on  edges  to  an  outside  radius  of  8  feet,  mill-sized  to  the 
exact  dimensions  and  dressed  on  all  sides.  There  shall  be  three 
doors  in  the  fifth,  eighth  and  tenth  spaces  between  the  hoops, 
made  by  cutting  out  from  staves  28  inches  long  cut  to  a  45-degree 
bevel  sloping  to  the  inside.  (See  Fig.  15.)  The  staves  shall  then 
be  fastened  together  with  two  2x4  inch  battens  cut  on  inside  to 
an  8-ft.  radius  and  bolted  to  each  stave  with  two  %-inch  diameter 
carriage  bolts  with  round  head  sunk  on  inside  and  nut  on  outside. 
The  staves  between  the  doors  shall  be  fastened  together  top  and 
bottom,  with  %-inch  diameter  hardwood  dowel  pins,  and  abutting 
ends  of  staves  shall  be  squared  and  toe-nailed  together. 

Bottom  Plates. — Bottom  plates  shall  be  made  of  2x4-inch 
pieces  about  2  feet  long,  cut  to  a  curve  of  7  feet  10  inches  radius 
outside.  They  shall  be  bedded  in  cement  mortar  and  the  staves 
shall  then  be  set  on  the  foundation  and  well  spiked  to  these 
plates. 


56 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


Hoops. — Hoops  shall  be  made  from  two  pieces  of  %-inch  diam- 
eter round  iron  with  upset  ends,  threaded  8  inches,  with  nut  and 
washer  at  each  end;  as  a  support  for  the  hoops  a  piece  of  4x6 
shall  be  substituted  for  a  stave  on  opposite  sides  and  holes  bored 
in  it  and  the  ends  of  hoops  passed  through  these  holes  and  tight- 
ened against  the  sides  of  the  4x6-inch.  The  hoops  shall  be  twelve 
in  number  starting  at  the  bottom  6  inches  apart  and  increasing 
in  distance  6  inches  between  each  hoop  until  a  space  of  3  feet 
6  inches  is  reached;  from  this  point  up  this  distance  shall  be 
preserved  as  near  as  possible  to  the  top. 


Fig.  15. — Appearance  of  door  in  stave  silo  after  being  sawed  out, 
and  side  view  in  place.  The  opening  is  largest  on  the  inside 
of  silo.  (Clinton.) 


THE  STAVE  SILO. 


57 


Roof. — Roof  shall  be  made  to  a  half-pitch  of  6-inch  clear 
siding  lapping  joints,  nailed  to  2x4-inch  rafters,  2-feet  centers 
1-foot  by  4-inch  ridge,  and  2x4-inch  plates.  These  plates  to  be 
supported  on  two  4x4-inch  pieces  resting  on  top  of  hoops.  Three 


Fig.  16. — A  cheap  roof  of  a  stave  silo.      (Clinton.) 

Ix4-inch  collar  beams  shall  be  spiked  to  end  and  middle  rafters 
to  tie  side  of  roof  together.  (See  Fig.  12.)  Fig.  16  shows  an- 
other simple  construction  of  roof  on  a  stave  silo. 


PAINTING. 

The  entire  outside  of  the  silo,  including  roof,  shall  be  painted 
two  coats  of  good  mineral  paint;  the  entire  inside  surface  of  the 
staves  and  doors  shall  be  thoroughly  coated  with  hot  coal  tar. 

Note. — Before  filling  silo,  tar  paper  should  be  tacked  tightly 
over  doors  and  the  entire  inside  of  silo  examined  and  cracks 
tightly  caulked. 

The  method  of  construction  specified  in  the  preceding  may  of 
course  be  modified  in  many  particulars,  according  to  the  condi- 
tions present  in  each  case,  cost  of  different  kinds  of  lumber,  max- 
imum amount  of  money  to  be  expended  on  silo,  etc. 

The    following   directions    for   the    construction    of   stave    silos 


58 


HOW  TO   BUILD  A   SILO. 


are  taken  from  two  bulletins  on  this  subject,  published  by  the 
Cornell  and  Ottawa  Experiment  Stations.  For  a  silo  20  feet  in 
diameter,  a  circular  trench  18  inches  to  two  feet  wide  and  with 
an  outer  diameter  of  22  feet  is  dug  about  2  feet  deep,  or  below 
the  frost  line.  The  surface  soil  over  the  whole  included  area, 
and  for  2  feet  outside,  is  removed  to  a  depth  of  10  or  12  inches 
at  the  same  time.  The  trench  is  then  filled  to  the  level  of  the 
interior  with  stone,  well  pounded  down,  the  surface  stone  being 
broken  quite  small,  and  thin  cement  (1  part  of  cement  to  4  of 
sand  thoroughly  mixed)  poured  over,  well  worked  in  and.  left 
for  a  few  days.  This  is  followed  by  a  coat  of  good  cement  (1 
part  cement  to  3  sand),  care  being  taken  when  finished  to  have 
the  surface  level  and  smooth. 

The  silo  is  set  up  as  shown  in  Fig.  17,  which  shows  a  cross- 
section  of  one  method  of  construction. 


J..-J. 


Fig.  17. — Cross  section  of  stave  silo.     The  dotted  lines   show  how 
scaffolding  may  be  put  up. 


MATERIAL  FOR  THE  SILO.  59 

The  posts  (a,  a,  a,  a)  should  be  of  6x6  material  and  run  the 
entire  length  of  the  silo.  These  should  be  first  set  up  vertically 
and  stayed  securely  in  place. 

The  scaffolding  may  be  constructed  by  setting  up  2x4  scantling 
in  the  positions  shown  in  Fig.  17,  as  b,  b,  b,  b.  Boards  nailed 
from  these  2x4  scantling  and  to  the  6x6  posts  will  form  a  rigid 
framework,  across  which  the  planks  for  the  scaffold  platform  may 
be  laid.  Before  the  scaffolding  is  all  in  place  the  staves  should  be 
stood  up  within  the  inclosure;  otherwise  difficulty  will  be  ex- 
perienced in  getting  them  into  position. 

It  is  probable  that  no  better  material  can  be  obtained  for  the 
staves  than  Southern  cypress.  This,  however,  is  so  expensive  in 
the  North,  as  to  preclude  its  use  in  most  cases.  Of  the  cheaper 
materials  hemlock,  white  pine,  and  yellow  pine,  are  usually  the 
most  available.  At  the  present  time  hemlock  is  one  of  the  cheap- 
est satisfactory  materials  which  can  be  purchased,  and  it  is 
probably  as  good  as  any  of  the  cheaper  materials.  It  should  be 
sound  and  free  from  loose  knots. 

If  the  silo  is  to  have  a  diameter  of  12  feet  or  less,  the  staves 
should  be  made  of  either  2x4  material,  unbeveled  on  the  edges 
and  neither  tongued  nor  grooved,  or  of  2x6  material  beveled 
slightly  on  the  edges  to  make  the  staves  conform  to  the  circular 
shape  of  the  silo.  If  the  silo  is  to  have  a  diameter  of  more  than 
12  feet,  the  staves  should  be  of  2x6  material,  and  neither  beveled 
nor  tongued  and  grooved  on  the  edges.  The  staves  should  be 
surfaced  on  the  inside  so  that  a  smooth  face  may  be  presented 
which  will  facilitate  the  settling  of  the  silage.  The  first  stave  set 
up  should  be  made  plumb,  and  should  be  toe-nailed  at  the  top* 
to  one  of  the  posts  originally  set.  Immediately  a  stave  is  set  in 
place  it  should  be  toe-nailed  at  the  top  to  the  preceding  stave  set. 
It  has  been  found  that  the  work  of  setting  up  and  preserving  the 
circular  outline  may  be  materially  aided  by  the  use  of  old  barrel 
staves  (see  Fig.  18).  For  a  silo  12  feet  in  diameter  the  curve  in 
the  stave  of  the  sugar  barrel  is  best  adapted;  for  a  16-foot  silo 
the  flour  barrel  stave  is  best,  and  for  a  silo  20  feet  or  more  in 
diameter  the  stave  of  the  cement  barrel  is  best.  If  when  the  silo 
staves  are  put  in  place  they  are  toe-nailed  securely  to  the  ones 
previously  set  if  they  are  fastened  firmly  to  the  permanent  up- 
right post  (Fig.  17,  a,  a,  a,  a) ;  if  the  barrel  staves  are  used  as 
directed  above,  the  silo  will  have  sufficient  rigidity  to  stand  until 


60 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


the  hoops  are  put  in  place.  However,  if  it  becomes  necessary  for 
any  reason  to  delay  for  .any  considerable  time  the  putting  on  of 
the  hoops,  boards  should  be  nailed  across  the  top  of  the  silo. 

When  it  is  found  impossible  to  secure  staves  of  the  full  length 
desired,  a  joint  or  splice  must  be  made. 

For  a  silo  30  feet  deep,  staves  20  feet  in  length  may  be  used. 
A  part  of  these  should  be  used  their  full  length  and  part  should 
be  sawed  through  the  middle,  thus  making  staves  of  20  and  10 
feet  length.  In  setting  them  up  the  ends  which  meet  at  the  splice 
should  be  squared  and  toe-nailed  securely  together.  They  should 
alternate  so  that  first  a  long  stave  is  at  the  bottom  then  a  short 
one,  thus  breaking  joints  at  10  -feet  and  20  feet  from  the  base. 

For  the  hoops,  %-inch  round  iron  or  steel  rods  are  recom- 
mended, although  cheaper  substitutes  have  been  found  satisfac- 
tory. Each  hoop  should  be  in  three  sections  for  a  silo  12  feet  in 
diameter,  in  four  sections  for  a  silo  16  feet  in  diameter.  If  the 
method  of  construction  shown  in  Fig.  17  is  followed,  the  hoops 


Fig.  18. — Shows  how  barrel  staves  may  be  used  in  setting  up 
silo.     They  should  be  removed  before  the  silo  is  filled. 


IRON  HOOPS  FOR  SILOS.  61 

will  need  to  be  in  four  sections  each,  the  ends  being  passed 
through  the  upright  6x6  posts,  and  secured  by  heavy  washers  and 
nuts.  The  bottom  hoop  should  be  about  six  inches  from  the  base 
of  the  silo;  the  second  hoop  should  be  not  more  than  two  feet 
from  the  first;  the  third  hoop  two  and  one-half  feet  from  the 
second,  the  distance  between  hoops  being  increased  by  one-half 
foot  until  they  are  three  and  one-half  feet  apart,  which  distance 
should  be  maintained  except  for  the  hoops  at  the  top  of  the  silo 
which  may  be  four  feet  apart.  The  hoops  should  be  drawn  fairly 
tight  before  the  silo  is  filled,  but  not  perfectly  tight.  They  must 
be  tight  enough  to  close  up  the  space  between  the  staves,  thus 
preventing  any  foreign  matter  from  getting  into  the  cracks  which 
would  prevent  the  staves  from  closing  up  as  they  swell,  and  allow 
air  to  enter.  To  hold  hoops  and  staves  in  place  during  the  sum- 
mer when  the  silo  is  empty,  staples  should  be  driven  over  the 
hoops  into  the  staves.  If  a  sufficient  number  of  staples  are  used 
they  will  prevent  the  sagging  or  dropping  down  of  the  hoops,  and 
they  will  hold  the  staves  securely  in  place. 

The  hoops  should  be  watched  very  closely  for  a  few  days 
after  the  silo  is  filled.  If  the  strain  becomes  quite  intense  the 
nuts  should  be  slightly  loosened.  If  during  the  summer  when 
the  silo  is  empty  and  the  staves  thoroughly  dry  the  hoops  are 
tightened  so  that  the  staves  are  drawn  closely  together  when 
the  silo  is  filled  and  the  wood  absorbs  moisture  and  begins  to 
swell,  the  hoops  must  be  eased  somewhat  to  allow  for  the  ex- 
pansion. 

The  doors,  2  feet  wide  by  2%  feet  high,  should  be  located 
where  convenience  in  feeding  dictates.  The  lower  door  should 
be  between  the  second  and  third  hoops  at  the  bottom,  and 
other  doors  will  usually  be  needed  in  every  second  space  be- 
tween there  and  the  top,  except  that  no  door  will  be  needed 
in  the  top  space,  as  the  silage  when  settled  will  be  sufficiently 
low  to  enable  it  to  be  taken  out  at  the  door  in  the  space  below. 
Plans  should  be  made  for  the  doors  at  the  time  the  staves  are  set. 
When  the  place  is  reached  where  it  is  desired  to  have  the  doors, 
a  saw  should  be  started  in  the  edge  of  the  stave  at  the  points 
where  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  doors  are  to  come.  The  saw 
should  be  inserted  so  that  the  door  can  be  sawed  out  on  a 
bevel,  making  the  opening  larger  on  the  inside  of  the  silo.  (See 
Pig.  15.)  This  will  enable  the  door  to  be  removed  and  put  in 


62  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

place  only  from  the  inside,  and  when  set  in  place  and  pressed 
down  with  silage  the  harder  the  pressure  the  tighter  will  the 
door  fit.  After  the  silo  is  set  up  and  the  hoops  have  been  put 
on  and  tightened  the  cutting  out  of  the  doors  may  be  completed. 
Before  doing  this,  cleats  2  inches  by  3  inches  and  in  length  equal 
to  the  width  of  the  door,  should  be  made  which  will  conform 
to  the  circular  shape  of  the  silo.  One  of  these  cleats  should 
be  securely  bolted  to  the  top  and  one  to  the  bottom  of  where 
the  door  is  to  be  cut.  (See  Fig.  15.)  After  the  bolting,  the 
door  may  be  sawed  out,  and  it  is  then  ready  for  use.  When 
set  in  place  at  time  of  filling  the  silo  a  piece  of  tarred  paper 
inserted  at  the  top  and  bottom  will  fill  the  opening  made  by  the 
saw  and  prevent  the  entrance  of  any  air  around  the  door. 

Another  Door  for  Stave  Silo. 

Silage  being  heavy  to  handle  and  pitch  up,  has  made  contin- 
uous doors  a  popular  feature  of  a  few  factory-built  silos,  as  it 
is  much  easier  to  get  the  silage  out  of  the  silo  for  feeding.  The 
illustration,  Fig.  19,  shows  a  method  of  making  a  door  in  home- 
made silos  which  is  continuous  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow 
brace  piece  extending  across  the  opening,  under  each  hoop, 
to  give  rigidity  to  the  structure.  These  pieces  should  be 
securely  toe-nailed  at  each  end  to  the  staves.  The  jamb  pieces, 
e,  e,  should  be  2  inches  thick,  beveled  off  on  the  side  away 
from  the  door,  securely  spiked  to  the  inside  of  the  stave,  as 
shown,  so  as  to  leave  a  rabbet  2x2  inches.  Great  care  should 
be  taken  to  have  these  pieces  exactly  the  same  distance  apart 
throughout  their  entire  length,  so  that  the  door  boards,  being 
sawed  the  exact  length,  will  fit  alike  and  properly  all  the  way 
up,  and  if  care  be  taken  in  this  regard  it  will  not  be  necessary 
to  replace  them  in  the  same  order  at  each  successive  filling  of 
the  silo.  The  door  boards  should  be  matched,  two  inches  thick 
the  same  as  the  staves,  and  if  surfaced  and  well  seasoned  there 
need  be  no  fear  of  the  silage  spoiling  around  such  a  door.  A 
strip  of  acid  and  water- proof  paper  may  be  placed  in  the  rabbet, 
between  the  ends  of  the  door  boards  and  the  stave,  as  an  extra 
precaution,  but  if  the  carpenter  work  is  well  done  it  is  not 
absolutely  necessary. 

Such  a  door  can  be  Adapted  to  any  form  of  stave  silo,  and,  if 
not  more  than  two  feet  wide,  the  fact  that  the  door  section 
is  straight  instead  of  curved  will  make  no  difference. 


SECTION    OF   SILO    DOOR. 


• 


Fig.  19. — a,  a,  Staves,     b,  b,  Door  Boards,     c,  Brace  2%  by  6,  set 
in.     d,  d,  Hoops,     e,  e,  Jamb  Pieces. 


64  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

If  the  silo  is  built  outside  of  the  barn  some  sort  of  a  roof 
is  desirable.  This  should  be  sufficiently  wide  to  protect  the 
walls  of  the  silo  as  thoroughly  as  possible.  A  very  satisfactory 
roof  is  shown  in  Pig.  16.  Two  other  constructions  of  a  cheap 
roof  for  a  stave  silo  are  shown  in  Figs.  20  and  21.  The  latter 
was  built  at  the  Indiana  Experiment  Station  at  a  total  cost 
of  $10.50,  viz.,  lumber,  $4.00;  tin  put  on  and  painted,  $6.00,  and 
hardware,  50  cents.  Two  2x6  pieces  (AA)  were  placed  on  edge 
and  toe-nailed  to  the  top  of  the  staves  they  rested  on;  the 
projection  is  for  supporting  the  carrier  at  filling  time.  They 
are  tied  together  by  the  short  pieces  E.  The  roof  is  in  three 
sections,  G,  H,  and  I.  G  and  H  are  hinged  to  the  frame  A,  A, 
and  may  be  tipped  up  when  the  silo  is  nearly  full,  to  allow  filling 
to  the  top.  The  narrow  middle  section  is  light  enough  to  lift 
off  on  either  side,  and  leaves  the  opening  for  the  carrier  to 
deliver  into. 


Fig.  20. — A  cheap  roof  for  stave  silos. 


CHEAP  ROOF  FOR  STAVE   SILO. 


65 


On  the  framework  B,  B,  and  C,  C,  cheap  sheeting  boards 
are  nailed.  This  is  then  covered  with  tin,  soldered  joints  and 
painted.  The  sections  should  be  fastened  down  by  means  of 
staples  and  hooks,  or  other  device;  the  hooks  are  used  on  this 
one.  On  the  inner  edge  of  G  and  H,  2x2-inch  strips,  K,  are  nailed. 
Close  to  these  are  placed  similar  strips,  J,  to  which  the  cross- 
boards  are  nailed,  forming-  the  section  I  of  the  roof.  The  tin 


Fig.    21.— A    CHEAP    ROOF    OF    STAVE    SILO. 

A,  B,  and  E,  2x6  in.;   C,  2x4  in.;   D,  E,  Enlarged  Outside  End;    F, 
Hinges;  G,  H,  I,  Sections  of  Roof;  J,  K,  2x2  in.   (Van  Norman.) 

on  the  section  I  should  come  over  to  the  side  of  J.  On  the 
other  sections  it  should  run  up  on  the  side  of  K,  making  a 
water-tight  joint. 

The  sections  G  and  H  have  slope  of  nearly  3  inches,  being 
the  difference  in  height  of  A  and  C.  C  is  notched  one  inch  at 
the  outer  end.  (Van  Norman.) 


66  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

A  Modification  of  the  Stave  Silo. 

Stave  silos  are  admittedly  cheap  and  readily  put  up,  but 
unless  hoops  are  tightened  as  they  dry  out,  they  may  be  easily 
blown  into  a  shapeless  mass  in  case  of  a  heavy  gale.  The 
modification  of  the  stave  silo  described  in  the  following  has  the 
advantage  of  being  more  rigid  and  substantial;  it  has  been  put 
up  in  a  number  of  places  in  the  East,  and  has  apparently  given 
good  satisfaction  for  several  years  at  least.  In  building  this 
silo  some  good  tough  oak  plank  two  inches  thick  and  of  any 
convenient  length  are  procured.  Rock  elm  will  do,  although 
not  as  good  as  oak.  The  planks  are  sawed  into  strips  half  an 
inch  thick.  .  The  foundation  of  the  silo  is  made  of  concrete,  and 
a  little  larger  than  the  outside  diameter  of  the  silo.  A  stake 
is  set  in  the  center  and  on  this  a  piece  is  nailed,  just  long  enough 
to  act  as  a  guide  in  setting  scantling  when  erecting  sides.  For 
sides  I%x4-inch  hemlock  of  any  desired  length  is  used.  These 
are  set  up  on  the  circumference  of  the  silo,  perpendicular  to  the 
bottom,  3  feet  and  7  feet  up  nail  on  the  outside  one  of  the  half- 
inch  strips  mentioned  before,  being  sure  to  keep  the  circle 
regular.  This  will  keep  upright  pieces  in  place  until  the  circle 
is  completed.  On  each  hoop  so  started  other  half-inch  pieces 
are  nailed,  lapping  them  in  different  places  until  each  hoop  is 
three  inches  thick.  Other  hoops  are  now  put  on  in  the  same 
manner,  placing  them  one  foot  apart  at  bottom  up  to  the 
three-foot  hoop,  16  inches  apart  from  three  to  the  7-foot 
hoop,  then  increasing  the  distance  between  each  hoop  two  inches, 
until  they  are  30  inches  apart,  at  which  distance  they  should 
be  kept.  If  staves  are  to  be  spliced  it  should*  be  done  on  the 
hoop.  When  this  is  done,  a  silo  will  be  made  of  I^x4-inch, 
thoroughly  hooped  with  wooden  hoops  2x3  inches. 

The  inside  may  be  covered  with  the  best  quality  of  felt, 
well  tacked  to  the  staves,  on  which  a  thick  coat  of  thick  coal 
tar  is  spread;  over  this  another  thickness  of  felt  is  put  while  the 
tar  coating  is  still  green.  The  silo  is  lined  with  %-inch  Georgia 
pine  ceiling,  nailing  thoroughly  and  the  lining  coated  with  two 
coats  of  coal  tar,  putting  on  the  first  one  quite  thin,  but  using 
all  the  wood  will  take  in,  and  for  a  second  coat  tar  as  thick 
as  can  be  spread.  Give  plenty  of  time  to  dry  before  filling. 

The    outside    of    the    silo    may    be    boarded    up    with    vertical 


MODIFICATION   OF    STAVE    SILO. 


67 


boarding,  or  it  may  have  strips  nailed  on  hoops  and  be  boarded 
with  novelty  siding.  The  latter  method  will  make  a  stronger 
and  better  looking  silo.  If  the  hoops  are  well  nailed  to  the 
staves  when  being  made,  we  shall  have  a  silo  in  which  it  is 
impossible  for  the  staves  to  shrink  or  get  loose.  (Woodward.) 

Protection  against  freezing. — If  the  silo  is  built  out-doors  in 
any  of  the  Northern  states,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  some 
special  means  to  keep  the  silage  from  freezing  in  case  this  is 
considered  a  very  objectionable  feature.  The  silo  may  be  in- 
closed by  a  wide  jacket  of  rough  boards  nailed  to  four  uprights, 
leaving  the  section  of  the  silo  where  the  doors  are  easy  of 
access;  the  space  between  the  silo  and  outside  jacket  is  filled 
with  straw  in  the  fall;  this  may  be  taken  out  and  used  for 
bedding  in  the  spring,  thus  allowing  the  staves  to  be  thoroughly 
dried  out  during  the  summer,  and  preventing  the  silo  from 
rotting. 

Number  of  staves  required  for  stave  silos. — The  following 
table  (Table  VI)  will  be  found  useful  in  calculating  the  number 
of  staves  required  for  silos  of  different  diameters,  and  feeding 
areas  which  these  will  give: 


Table   VI. — Circumferences   and    Areas   of  Circles. 


Diameter, 
Feet 

Circumfer- 
ence. 
Feet 

Area, 
Square 
Feet 

Diameter, 
Feet 

Circumfer- 
ence. 
Feet 

Area. 
Square 
Feet 

8 

25.1 

50.3 

21 

66.0 

346.4 

9 

28.3 

63.6 

22 

69.1 

380.1 

10 

31.4 

78.5 

23 

72.3 

415.5 

11 

54.6 

95.0 

24                75.4 

452.4 

12 

37.7 

113.1 

25 

78.5              490.9 

13 

40.8 

132.7 

26 

81.7 

530.9 

14 

44.0 

153.9 

27 

84.8 

572.6 

15 

47.1 

179.7 

28 

88.0 

615.8 

16 

50.3 

201.1 

29        I        91.1        ;        660.5 

17 

53.4 

227.0 

30 

94.2               706.9 

18 

56.5 

254.5 

31 

97.4               754.8 

19                59.7 

283.5 

32 

100.5              804.2 

20                62.8 

314.2 

I                      j 

To   find    the  circumference   of  a    circle,   multiply   the   diameter 
by  3.1416. 


68 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


To  find  the  area  of  a  circle,  multiply  the  square  of  the 
diameter  by  0.7854. 

To  find  the  cubical  contents  of  a  cylinder,  multiply  the  area 
of  the  base  (floor)  by  the  height. 

Example. — A  silo  16  feet  in  diameter  and  26  feet  high  is 
wanted;  how  many  staves  2x6  inches  will  be  needed,  and  what 
will  be  the  feeding  area  in  the  silo  and  its  capacity 

The  circumference  of  a  circle  ^16  feet  in  diameter  is  50.3  feet; 
there  will  therefore  be  required  50.3-=-%  =101  staves,  2x6  inches, 
26  feet  high,  or  if  staves  of  this  height  cannot  be  obtained,  135 
staves  20  feet  long,  or  50  each  of  12  and  14  feet  long  staves. 
The  feeding  area  will  be  16X16X0.7854=201.1  square  feet,  and 
the  cubical  content  of  the  silo,  201.1X26=5228.6  cubic  feet.  Es- 
timating the  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  corn  silage  at  40  pounds, 
5228.6  cubic  feet  of  silage  would  weigh  209,164  pounds,  or  about 


Fig.  23. — Showing  method  of  bedding  iron  rods  in  stone,  brick,  or 
concrete  walls,  to  increase  the  strength.  The  ends  of  rods 
should  be  firmly  linked  together  as  shown. 


OTHER  FORMS  OF  ROUND  SILOS.  69 

100  tons,  which  is  the  approximate  capacity  of  a  round  silo  of 
the  dimensions  given. 

Connecting  Round  Silos  with  Barn. — The  location  of  the  silo 
with  reference  to  other  farm  buildings  has  already  been  dis- 
cussed. The  silo  must  be  easy  to  get  at  from  the  stable,  and 
the  silage,  if  possible,  handled  only  once  in  being  placed  before 
the  stock.  A  round  silo  is  most  conveniently  built  just  outside 
of  the  barn  and  connected  with  this  by  means  of  covered  pas- 
sageway. The  method  of  joining  silos  to  barns  is  illustrated  in 
numerous  pictures  of  silos  given  in  this  book. 

Details  concerning  the  construction  of  stone,  brick,  and  ce- 
ment silos  are  given  in  Prof.  Woll's  "Book  on  Silage,"  and  in 
Bulletin  No.  83  of  Wisconsin  Experiment  Station  by  Prof. 
King,  as  well  as  in  numerous  other  pamphlets,  and  we  shall 
not  take  up  further  space  here  with  the  discussion  thereof.  The 
same  holds  true  with  all  other  forms  of  silo  construction  than 
those  already  explained.  We  wish  to  briefly  mention,  however, 
the  octagonal  type  of  silo. 

Octagonal  Silos. 

A  number  of  octagonal  silos  have  been  built  in  recent  jvars, 
and  find  favor  with  their  owners  in  most  instances.  If  properly 
put  up  and  care  taken  to  fasten  the  girts  securely  at  the  corners 
with  plenty  of  spikes,  the  octagonal  silo  is  greatly  superior  to 
the  square  type,  and  has  nearly  every  advantage  of  the  round 
silo,  and  can  readily  be  constructed  by  anyone  handy  with 
tools  with  the  assistance  of  the  ordinary  farm  help. 

The  foundation  should  be  of  stone  or  brick  as  described  for 
various  other  forms  of  silos,  and  should  be  laid  out  with  proper 
dimensions  for  the  size  decided  upon.  Brief  details  are  here 
given  for  an  octagonal  silo  of  about  the  same  capacity  as  a 
round  silo,  20  feet  in  diameter  and  of  equal  height. 

If  the  foundation  is  laid  out  so  that  the  corners  are  in  the 
circumference  of  a  circle  21  feet  in  diameter  the  horizontal  girts 
will  be  about  8  feet  long,  and  will  be  much  stronger  and  better 
able  to  withstand  the  lateral  pressure  than  the  sides  of  a 
square  silo  of  equal  capacity.  Details  of  construction  are  shown 
in  the  drawings,  Figs.  25  and  26.  The  girts  should  be  3x8 
inches  and  spiked  at  the  corners  with  6-inch  spikes,  up  to 


70 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 


nearly  one-half  of  the  height  of  the  silo,  and  2x8  in.  the  rest  of 
the  way,  fastened  with  20  penny  spikes.  The  girts  should  be  16 
inches  apart  at  the  bottom  for  one -third  of  the  height  of  the 
silo.  They  may  be  18  inches  apart  the  second  third  of  the  dis- 
tance, and  above  that  the  distance  between  them  can  be  in- 
creased till  they  are  2  feet  or  more  at  the  very  top.  A  double 
row  may  be  used  for  a  plate.  Sound  timber  only  should  be  used. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  girts  securely  spiked  at  the 
corners,  so  that  the  joints  will  not  give.  The  horizontal  girt 
sections  take  the  place  of  hoops  in  the  round  silo  and  must  be 
strong.  Not  less  than  six  or  eight  spikes  should  be  used  at  each 
splice.  One  of  the  causes  of  failure  in  home-made  silos  of 
every  kind  is  that  the  ordinary  carpenter,  who  has  probably  never 
built  a  silo  before,  has  but  a  limited  idea  of  the  pressure  on  the 
sides  of  a  silo  30  or  more  feet  deep,  and  does  not  realize  the 
disappointment  and  loss  occasioned  by  a  poorly  built  silo. 

A    simple    method    of    getting    the    walls    perpendicular    is    to 
first  lay  the  sill,   which  should  be  fastened  to  the  wall  securely, 


Fig.  25. — Perspective,  showing  construction  of  frame,  and  double 
lining  with  paper  between.  The  door  is  made  of  two  thick- 
nesses with  paper  between,  as  shown. 


OCTAGONAL  SILO.  71 

by  means  of  bolts  set  in  the  wall,  and  then  erect  at  each  corner 
and  on  the  inside  a  temporary  post  or  scantling  to  serve  as  a 
guide,  braced  in  position  so  that  it  is  perpendicular  both  ways, 
and  the  girts  then  laid  and  spiked  in  position,  one  above  the 
other. 

The  lining  is,  of  course,  put  on  up  and  down  and  should  be 
matched  and  of  good  thickness,  say  1*4  or  1%  if  but  one  layer 
is  used.  If  two  layers,  it  need  not  be  so  thick,  %-inch  flooring, 
and  the  outer  layer  not  necessarily  matched.  The  corners  should 
be  fitted  as  nicely  as  possible,  and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  block  out 
the  corners,  as  shown  at  Fig.  26,  a,  a,  a,  so  that  the  tongues  and 
grooves  can  be  properly  adjusted  to  each  other. 

John  Gould,  a  prominent  dairy  writer  and  lecturer,  recom- 
mends, where  one  thickness  of  matched  lumber  is  used  in  the 
above  manner,  that  the  lining  be  thoroughly  coated  on  the  out- 
side with  heavy  application  of  coal  tar,  or  other  similar  sub- 
stance, so  as  to  prevent  the  air  penetrating  the  pores  of  the 
lumber,  and  causing  the  silage  to  dry  onto  the  inner  surface. 

Any  style  of  door  can  be  used,  but  an  effective  continuous 
door  is  shown  in  the  illustration.  If  any  of  the  girts  be  cut 


Fig.  26. — Showing  method  of  laying  sill  and  bolting  same  to  foun- 
dation for  an  octagonal  silo. 


72  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

out  to   make   the   door   space    larger,    the   remaining   ones   should 
be   correspondingly  reinforced. 

The  making  of  a  roof  for  such  a  silo  is  a  simple  matter,  and 
a  dormer  window  will  assist  in  filling,  although  a  trap  door  may 
be  used  in  case  the  filling  be  done  with  a  blower.  Any  style 
of  siding  may  be  used. 

Such  a  silo  if  well  built  will  be  ^durable,  satisfactory,  have 
nearly  all  the  advantages  of  a  round  silo,  and  in  addition  will 
be  a  much  more  stable  structure,  requiring  no  tightening  of 
the  hoops  from  time  to  time. 

Bills  of  material  for  a  silo  built  to  21-foot  circle  and  30  feet 
high  are  given  below.  The  cost  will,  of  course,  vary  with  the 
locality. 

Bills  of  materials  for  Octagonal  Silo  20x50  feet  outside  meas- 
urement: 

Foundation 10   perches 

Girts 110  feet  3x8    18  or  16  foot 

900  feet  2x8   J     lengths. 

Rafters 230   feet  2x4x14   feet 

Siding 2500    feet 

Lining 2800  feet  1%    inch  thick,   matched 

Dormer  Window 

Nails   and   spikes 300    Ibs. 

Shingles 4    M 

Paint 6    gallons 

The  "Ballard"  silo  is  a  lumber  silo  of  the  octagonal  type,  de- 
signed to  be  built  of  material  that  can  be  found  in  any  retail 
lumber  yard.  It  is  one  of  the  contributions  of  the  Plan  Book 
Department  of  the  Western  Retail  Lumbermen's  Association,  of 
Spokane,  Washington,  for  the  benefit  of  the  customers  of  its 
members;  and  its  success  has  brought  about  its  introduction 
into  a  very  extended  territory. 

Its  features  are  its  low  cost,  both  in  material  and  labor; 
its  strength  and  rigidity;  and  the  simple  method  of  adapting 
its  construction  to  meet  the  varying  climatic  conditions  of  widely 
separated  localities.  No  skilled  labor  is  required,  no  patented 
materials  are  used,  and  the  shape  and  details  of  construction 


COST   OP  DIFFERENT   KINDS    OF   SILOS. 


73 


2X6    UPRIGHT 
BETWEEN  SILL5 


Ca5T  CONCRETE  W7\LU  FOOTINGS 


ANCHOR    BOLTS 

BEDDED  IN 
CONCRETE  WALL 

TO  SECURE 


Fig.  5. — Showing  foundation  plan,  also  method  of  placing  sill,  etc. 


are  especially  adapted  for  the  "battery"  system  in  which  several 
small  silos  are  built  in  succession  as  the  demand  for  silage  in- 
creases. There  is  a  desirable  saving  of  cost  and  an  increase 
in  solidity  and  rigidity  in  the  "battery"  system  that  is  of  in- 
terest. It  is  the  "sectional  book  case"  idea  applied  to  the  farm. 

The  illustrations  shown  by  Figures  5,  22,  24  and  32  were  pre- 
pared from  blue  prints  furnished  by  the  above  commpany  and 
apply  to  the  10x30  foot  size  holding  45  tons. 

The  anchor  bolts  shown  in  Fig.  5  are  for  attaching  4x8 
bracing.  Similar  bolts  are  placed  in  the  concrete  wall  to  which 
sill  is  firmly  bolted.  In  Fig.  22,  ribs  No.  1  to  G  are  spaced  12 
inches  apart.  Ribs  No.  6  to  12  are  18  inches  apart;  No.  12  to 


74 


HOW  TO  BUILD  A   SIT.O. 


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Fig.   22. — Skeleton    showing  method   of  framing. 


Fig.  24. — Showing  plan 
of  joints. 


16,  24  inches  apart,  and  No.  16  to 
19,  32  inches  apart.  Fig.  24  shows  the 
method  of  jointing  and  spiking  the 
ends  of  chords,  also  the  2x8-inch  up- 
right support  between  the  ribs.  The 
shiplap  outside  and  the  Ix4-inch  floor- 
ing inside  are  also  shown. 

The  regular  chord  in  ribs  No.  2 
to  No.  18  and  part  of  rib  No.  19  is 
shown  in  the  larger  drawing,  Fig.  32. 
The  smaller  drawing  represents  the 
chord  for  ribs  No.  1  and  No.  19.  The 
%-inch  bolt  holes  shown  are  for  bolt- 
ing sill  or  rib  No.  1  to  the  foundation. 


Another  type   of  octagonal  silo  that  has  found  favor  in   some 
sections   of   the   corn   belt   because   of   the   fact   that   the   material 


COST    OF   DIFFERENT   KINDS    OF   SILOS. 


75 


i/TI 


Fig.  32. —  Pattern 
for  chords  or 
ribs.  The  small 
size  is  used  only 
for  sill  and  plate 
ribs. 


is  easily  obtainable  from  any  lumber  yard,  is 
built  by  simply  placing  one  2x4  on  top  of  an- 
other interlocking  the  corners  and  nailing 
together.  The  2x4's  are  sawed  at  the  proper 
angle  to  fit  silos  from  10  to  20  feet  in  diam- 
eter. The  lining  consists  merely  in  placing 
prepared  roofing  on  the  inside  to  make  it 
air-tight.  It  is  said  that  this  silo  may  be 
built  with  but  15  to  20  tons  capacity  and  at 
any  later  time  may  be  increased  in  capacity 
by  building  it  higher. 


Cost  of  Different  Kinds  of  Silos. 


The  cost  of  a  silo  will  depend  on  local 
conditions  as  to  price  of  labor  and  mater- 
ials; how  much  labor  has  to  be  paid  for;  the 
size  of  the  silo,  etc.  The  comparative  data  for  the  cost  of  two 
round  silos,  13  and  25  feet  in  diameter,  and  30  feet  deep,  is  given 
by  Prof.  King,  as  shown  in  the  following  table: 


Table  VII. 


Kinds  of  Silo 

13  Feet  Inside  Diameter 

25  Feet  Inside  Diameter 

Without 
Roof 

With 
Roof 

Without 
Roof 

With 
Roof 

Stone    Silo     .        .  .        . 

$151 

243 

142 
131 
133 

168 
128 
127 
101 

$175 

273 

230 
190 
185 

185 
222 
183 
144 

$264 

437 

310 
239 
244 

308 
235 
136 
195 

$328 
494 

442 
369 
363 

432 

358 
289 
240 

Brick   Silo           

Brick-lined    Silo,    4    inches 
thick 

Brick-lined,  2  inches  thick. 
Lathed  and  plastered  Silo 
Wood  Silo  with  galvanized 
iron 

Wood  Silo  with  paper  
Stave    Silo 

Cheapest    wood    Silo  

7G  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

During  the  spring  of  1895  Prof.  Woll  made  inquiries  in  regard 
to  the  cost  of  silos  of  different  kinds  (not  only  circular  ones) 
built  by  farmers  in  different  states  in  the  Union.  The  results 
of  this  inquiry  are  summarized  briefly  below. 

The  cheapest  silos  were  those  built  in  bays  of  barns,  as  would 
be  expected,  since  roof  and  outside  lining  are  here  already  at 
hand.  Number  of  silos  included,  fourteen;  average  capacity, 
140  tons;  average  cost  of  silos,  $92,  or  65  cents  per  ton  capacity. 

Next  comes  the  square  or  rectangular  wooden  silos.  Number 
of  silos  included,  twenty-five;  average  capacity,  194  tons;  av- 
erage cost  of  silos,  $285,  or  $1.46  per  ton  capacity. 

The  round  silos  follow  closely  the  square  wooden  ones  in 
point  of  cost.  Only  seven  silos  were  included,  all  but  one  of 
which  were  made  of  wood.  Average  capacity,  237  tons;  average 
cost,  $368,  or  $1.54  per  ton  capacity.  The  data  for  the  six  round 
wooden  silos  are  as  follows:  Average  capacity,  228  tons;  aver- 
age cost,  $340,  or  $1.52  per  ton  capacity.  The  one  round  cement 
silo  cost  $500,  and  had  a  capacity  of  300  tons  (dimensions:  diam- 
eter, 30  feet;  depth,  21  feet);  cost,  per  ton  capacity,  $1.67. 

The  stone  or  cement  silos  are  the  most  expensive  in  first  cost,  • 
as   is    shown    by   the   data   obtained.      Number    of    silos    included, 
nine;    average    capacity,    288    tons;    average    cost,    $577,    or    $1.93 
per  ton  capacity. 

The  great  difference  in  the  cost  of  different  silos  of  the  same 
kind  is  apparent  without  much  reflection.  The  range  in  cost  per 
ton  capacity  in  the  25  square  wooden  silos  included  in  the  pre- 
ceding summary  was  from  70  cents  to  $3.60.  The  former  figures 
were  obtained  with  a  144- ton  silo,  20x18x20  feet;  and  the  latter 
with  a  140-ton  silo,  built  as  follows:  Dimensions,  14x28x18  feet; 
2x12x18  feet  studdings,  set  12  inches  apart;  two  thicknesses  of 
dimension  boards  inside,  with  paper  between,  sheeting  outside 
with  paper  nailed  on  studding;  cement  floor.  Particulars  are 
lacking  as  regards  the  construction  of  the  first  silo  beyond  its 
dimensions. 

It  may  be  in  order  to  state,  in  comparing  the  average  data 
for  the  cost  of  the  different  silo  types,  that  the  round  silos  were 
uniformly  built  better  than  the  rectangular  wooden  silos  included, 
and  according  to  modern  requirements,  while  many  of  the  latter 
were  old  and  of  comparatively  cheap  construction,  so  that  the 


COST    OF  DIFFERENT   KINDS    OF   SILOS.  77 

figures  cannot  be  taken  to  represent  the  relative  value  of  rec- 
tangular and  round  silos  built  equally  well. 

A  good  many  figures  entering  into  the  preceding  summaries 
are  doubtless  somewhat  too  low,  if  all  labor  put  on  the  silo  is 
to  be  paid  for,  for  in  some  cases  the  cost  of  work  done  by  the 
farmers  themselves  was  not  figured  in  with  other  expenses.  As 
most  farmers  would  do  some  of  the  work  themselves,  the  figures 
given  may,  however,  be  taken  to  represent  the  cash  outlay  in 
building  silos.  In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  said  that  a  silo  can 
be  built  in  the  bay  of  a  barn  for  less  than  75  cents  per  ton 
capacity;  a  round  or  a  good  square  or  rectangular  wooden  silo 
for  about  $1.50,  and  a  stone  or  cement  silo  for  about  $2  per 
ton  capacity,  all  figures  being  subject  to  variations  according  to 
local  prices  for  labor  and  materials. 

Rennie,  a  Canadian  writer,  gives  the  following  comparative 
figures  as  to  cost  of  silos:  Round  stave  silos,  75  cents  per  ton 
capacity;  round  wooden  silos,  $1.25,  and  cement  silos,  $1.25  to 
$1.50  per  ton  capacity. 

The  cost  of  stave  silos  will  of  course  vary  with  the  kind  of 
lumber  used,  cost  of  labor,  and  other  expenses,  as  in  case  of  other 
types  of  silos.  It  is  evident  that  stave  silos  can  as  a  rule  be 
built  cheaper  than  other  kinds  of  silos,  both  from  the  fact  that 
less  material  is  used  in  their  construction,  and  because  the  labor 
bill  is  smaller.  One  of  the  first  stave  silos  described,  built  in 
Ontario,  Canada,  cost  $75.00;  capacity,  140  tons.  Other  and 
better  built  stave  silos  have  been  put  up  for  $100  for  a  100-ton 
silo,  and  this  may  be  considered  an  average  price  for  such  a 
silo,  made  of  white  pine,  hemlock  or  any  lumber  that  is  cheapest 
in  the  particular  locality  where  the  silo  is  to  be  built.  If  built 
of  Southern  cypress,  and  complete  with  conical  roof  and  doors, 
the  price  of  stave  silos  will  in  the  North  come  to  about  $1.50  per 
ton  capacity,  small  silos  being  a  little  dearer,  and  larger  ones  a 
little  cheaper  than  this  average  figure. 

Estimating  Material  and  Cost  of  Silos. 

Several  writers  on  silo  construction  have  published  bills  of  ma- 
terials used  in  the  construction  of  silos  of  moderate  sizes  of 
the  following  three  types:  Wisconsin  Improved  Silo,  Modified 
Wisconsin  Silo,  and  Stave  Silo.  Farmers  contemplating  building 


78  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

a  silo,  can  use  these  estimates  for  figuring  out  the  approximate 
cost  of  silos  of  the  three  kinds  under  his  conditions  as  to  cost 
of  materials  and  labor.  The  estimates  are  made  for  silos  built 
in  the  open,  on  level  land.  On  hillsides  deeper  walls  may  be 
made  to  advantage,  and  where  the  silo  is  located  within  a  build- 
ing no  roof  will  be  needed.  Consequently  various  factors  may 
alter  the  applications  of  these  estimates,  which  are  only  offered 
as  suggestive  with  the  hope  they  may  prove  helpful.  The  first 
three  estimates  of  materials  are  published  by  Prof.  Plumb,  while 
the  others  have  been  furnished  by  Professors  King  and  Withy- 
combe. 

Estimate  of  Materials  for  Wisconsin  Improved  Silos. 

Size,  30  feet  deep,  14  feet  diameter.     Capacity  90  tons. 

Brick — 3375  for  foundation,  1  foot  thick,  3  feet  deep. 

Studs — 50  pieces  2x4,  16  feet  long. 

Studs — 50  pieces  2x4.  14  feet  long. 

Flooring  for  doors — 32  feet,  4  matched. 

Sheeting— 3000  feet,  %  inch,  resawed  from  2x6—16  foot  plank 
sawed  three  times,  dressed  one  side  to  uniform  thickness  for 
inside  lining  of  two  layers. 

Lining — 1500  feet  of  same  for  outside. 

Tar  building  paper — 200  yards,  water  and  acid-proof. 

Nails— 200  Ibs.  8-penny;   200  Ibs.  10-penny. 

Spikes— 20   Ibs. 

Rafters — 22,  2x4,  10  feet  long,  for  usual  ridge   roof. 

Sheeting  for  roof — 350  feet  of  16  foot  boards. 

Shingles— 3000. 

Shingle  nails — 12  Ibs. 

Dormer  window  for  filling  through. 

Paint — 7  gallons,  providing  two  coats. 

Cement — 2  barrels,  for  cementing  bottom. 

Estimate  of  Materials  for  a  Modified  Wisconsin  Silo. 

Same  capacity  as  preceding. 

Brick— 350  for  foundation,  8  in.  wide,  5  in.  thick. 

Studs — 50  pieces  2x4,  16  feet  long. 

Studs— 50  pieces  2x4,  14  feet  long. 

Sheeting — 3000  ft.  y2  in.  resawed  from  2x6,  16  ft.  plank  sawed 
three  times,  dressed  to  uniform  thickness  for  inside  lining  of 
two  layers. 

Tar  building  paper — 200  yards  water  and  acid-proof. 

Nails— 150  Ibs.  8-penny. 

Spikes— 12  Ibs. 

No  outer  siding,  roof  or  floor  is  figured  on  or  provided  for  in 
this  construction. 


ESTIMATES  OF  MATERIALS.  19 

Estimate  of  Materials  for  a  Stave  Silo. 

Size    12x28    ft.,    capacity    60    tons. 

Bricks — 1800   for  foundation,    1   foot   thick,   2   ft.   deep. 
Staves— 77  2x6,  16  ft.  dressed  4  sides. 
Staves — 77  2x6,  12  ft.  dressed  4  sides. 

Rods — 10,  19%  ft.  long  y2  in.  iron,  with  %  threaded  ends  and 
nuts. 

Staples — 2  gross,  %x2  in. 

Iron  tighteners — 20  holding  ends  of  hoops. 

Rafters — 2   2x6   pieces,   14  ft.   long  for  roof  center. 

Rafters — 2  2x6  pieces,  13  ft.  long,  for  roof  next  center. 

Side  rafters — 48  ft.  2x4  pieces. 

Roof  sheeting — 170  ft.  common. 

Tin  sheeting— 196   ft. 

Cement  for  floor — 2  bbls. 

Estimate  of  Materials  for  a  Wisconsin  Improved  Silo. 

Size  30  ft.  deep,  20  ft.  inside  diameter,  capacity  200  tons. 

Stone  foundation — 7.5   perch. 

Studs— 2x4,  14  and  16  ft.,  1491  ft. 

Rafters— 2x4.  12  ft.,  208  ft. 
JRoof  boards — Fencing,  500  feet. 

Shingles — 6   M. 

Siding— Rabbeted,   2660  ft. 

Lining— Fencing,  ripped,   2800  ft. 

Tarred  paper — 740  Ibs. 

Coal  tar— 1  bbl. 

Hardware— $6.00. 

Painting  (60  cents  per  square) — $13.20. 

Cementing  bottom — $5.00. 

Carpenter  labor  (at  $3  per  M  and  board) — $33.17. 

The  estimated  cost  of  the  last  silo  is  $246.39;  it  is  an  out- 
side, wholly  independent  structure,  except  connected  with  the 
barn  in  the  manner  shown  in  Fig.  20,  with  entrance  and  feeding 
chute  toward  the  barn. 

Estimate  of  Materials  for  Stave  Silo. 

12  ft.  in  diameter,  24  ft.  deep,  capacity  49  tons. 

1  2-3  yards  of  rock  gravel. 

4  barrels  of  sand. 

1  barrel  of  cement. 

2260  ft.  tongued  and  grooved  staves. 

72  ft.  3x6,  24  ft.  door  frames. 

358  ft.   %  in.  round  iron  for  hoops  and  bolts,  weight  465  Ibs. 

9  lugs. 

54  nuts. 

Preservative   ($1.50). 


80  HOW  TO  BUILD  A  SILO. 

If  the  silo  is  constructed  outside,  materials  for  roof  and 
painting  are  to  be  added  to  the  preceding  list. 

Although  most  of  the  foregoing  descriptions  of  stave  silos 
do  not  mention  tongued  and  grooved  staves,  the  latest  practice 
indicates  that,  if  properly  done,  it  is  a  decided  advantage  to 
have  the  staves  matched,  also  slightly  beveled.  The  silo  made  in 
this  manner  will  not  be  so  liable  to  go  to  pieces  when  empty. 
This  is  the  chief  objection  to  the  stave  silo,  and  numerous 
cases  are  on  record  where  stave  silos  standing  in  exposed  places 
have  blown  over  when  empty.  It  is  recommended,  therefore,  that 
stave  silos  be  attached  to  the  barn  by  means  of  a  feeding  chute, 
and  in  the  case  of  high  or  exposed  silos  it  is  well  to  make  use  of 
guy  rods  or  wires  in  addition.  Indeed,  some  manufacturers  of 
stave  silos  now  recommend  these  on  some  of  their  silos,  and 
make  provisions  for  them. 

Preservation  of  Silo. 

A  silo  building  will  not  remain  sound  for  many  years  unless 
special  precautions  are  taken  to  preserve  it.  This  holds  good 
of  all  kinds  of  silos,  but  more  especially  of  wooden  ones,  since 
cement  coating  in  a  stone  silo,  even  if  only  fairly  well  made,  will 
better  resist  the  action  of  the  silage  juices  than  the  wood-work 
will  be  able  to  keep  sound  in  the  presence  of  moisture,  high 
temperature,  and  an  abundance  of  bacterial  life. 

In  case  of  wooden  silos  it  is  necessary  to  apply  some  ma- 
terial which  will  render  the  wood  impervious  to  water,  and  pre- 
serve it  from  decay.  A  great  variety  of  preparations  have  been 
recommended  and  used  for  this  purpose.  Coal  tar  has  been  ap- 
plied by  a  large  number  of  farmers,  and  has  been  found  effective 
and  durable.  It  may  be  put  on  either  hot,  alone  or  mixed  with 
resin,  or  dissolved  in  gasoline.  If  it  is  to  be  applied  hot,  some 
of  the  oil  contained  in  the  tar  must  previously  be  burnt  off.  The 
tar  is  poured  into  an  iron  kettle,  a  handful  of  straw  is  ignited 
and  then  thrown  into  the  kettle,  which  will  cause  the  oil  to 
flash  and  burn  off.  The  tar  is  sufficiently  burnt  when  it  will 
string  out  in  fine  threads,  a  foot  or  more  in  length,  from  a  stick 
which  has  been  thrust  into  the  blazing  kettle,  and  afterward 
plunged  into  cold  water.  The  fire  is  then  put  out  by  plac- 
ing a  tight  cover  over  the  kettle.  The  kettle  must  be  kept 
over  the  fire  until  the  silo  lining  has  been  gone  over.  A 


PRESERVATION  OF  SILOS.  81 

mop  or  small  whisk  broom  cut  short,  so  it  is  stiff,  may  serve  for 
putting  on  the  tar. 

Coal  tar  and  gasoline  have  also  been  used  by  many  with 
good  success.  About  half  a  gallon  of  coal  tar  and  two-thirds 
of  a  gallon  of  gasoline  are  mixed  at  a  time,  stirring  it  while  it 
is  being  put  on.  Since  gasoline  is  highly  inflammable,  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  have  any  fire  around  when  this  mixture 
is  applied.  Asbestos  paint  has  also  been  recommended  for  the 
preservation  of  silo  walls,  and  would  seem  to  be  well  adapted 
for  this  purpose. 

Many  silos  are  preserved  by  application  of  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  boiled  linseed  oil  and  black  oil,  or  one  part  of  the  former 
to  two  of  the  latter.  This  mixture,  applied  every  other  year,  be- 
fore filling  time,  seems  to  preserve  the  lining  perfectly.  In  build- 
ing round  silos,  it  is  recommended  to  paint  the  boards  with  hot 
coal  tar,  and  placing  the  painted  sides  face  to  face. 

Manufacturers  of  stave  silos  and  fixtures  put  up  special 
preparations  for  preserving  the  silos,  which  they  send  out  with 
the  staves.  These  are  generally  simple  compounds  similar  to 
those  given  in  the  preceding,  and  are  sold  to  customers  at  prac- 
tically cost  price. 

Walls  of  wooden  silos  that  have  been  preserved  by  one  or 
the  other  of  these  methods  will  only  keep  sound  and  free  from 
decay  if  the  silos  are  built  so  as  to  insure  good  ventilation. 
Preservatives  will  not  save  a  non- ventilated  silo  structure  from 
decay. 

Plastered  wooden  silos  are  preserved,  as  we  have  seen,  by 
applying  a  whitewash  of  pure  cement  as  often  as  found  neces- 
sary, which  may  be  every  two  or  three  years.  The  same  applies 
to  stone  and  cement  silos.  The  degree  of  moisture  and  acidity 
in  the  silage  corn  will  doubtless  determine  how  often  the  silo 
walls  have  to  be  gone  over  with  a  cement  wash;  a  very  acid 
silage,  made  from  immature  corn,  will  be  likely  to  soften  the 
cement  coating  sooner  than  so-called  sweet  silage  made  from 
nearly  mature  corn. 

A  considerable  number  of  woad  silos  are  in  use  that  were 
not  treated  on  the  inside  with  any  preservative  or  paint  and 
have  stood  very  well.  Indeed,  some  writers  maintain  that  if 
the  silo  is  well  protected  on  the  outside,  a  stave  silo  receives  little 
if  any  benefit  from  inside  coatings. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MONOLITHIC  CONCRETE  SILOS  —  METAL-LATH 
AND  STEEL-RIB  PLASTERED  SILOS— CEMENT 
BLOCK  AND  CEMENT  STAVE  SILOS— VITRIFIED 
TILE  SILOS— BRICK  SILOS— ALL-METAL  SILOS. 
UNDERGROUND  SILOS. 


Several  types  of  silos  in  which  cement  plays  an  important 
part  are  now  in  successful  use  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Among 
them  are  the  monolithic  reinforced  concrete  silos,  both  single 
wall  and  double  or  hollow  wall;  metal-lath  and  steel-rib  plas- 
tered silos;  cement  block  and  cement  stave  silos  of  various 
types;  hollow  brick  or  vitrified  tile  silos  and  brick  silos.  All  of 
these  types,  as  well  as  the  all-metal  silos  and  pit  or  underground 
silos  will  be  discussed  in  this  chapter. 

When  properly  constructed  so  as  to  make  the  walls  strong, 
smooth  and  impervious,  practically  all  of  the  types  of  silos  men- 
tioned above  have  been  used  with  success.  There  maybe  a  dif- 
ference, of  course,  from  the  standpoint  of  permanence  or  dura- 
bility just  as  there  is  a  difference  in  the  life  of  various  woods 
used.  Aside  from  the  really  essential  features,  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  desirable  features  attached  to  the  various  types  outlined 
herein;  and  when  these  are  all  carefully  considered  and  bal- 
anced by  the  prospective  silo  builder,  the  cost,  fixed  largely  by 
local  conditions  will  probably  be  the  deciding  factor. 

In  the  past,  the  high  first  cost  of  all  forms  of  concr-ite  con- 
struction has  been  the  chief  influence  against  their  more  ex- 
tensive use,  but  this  has  been  due  to  our  insufficient  knowledge 
as  to  the  best  and  most  econ<Mnical  methods  in  handling  ma- 
terial. The  price  of  lumber  has  been  steadily  rising,  while  that 
of  good  Portland  cement  has  been  decreasing,  and  good  qualities 
can  now  be  obtained  at  a  fair  price,  so  that  this  factor  is  largely 
removed. 

82 


MONOLITHIC  SILOS.  83 

Monolithic  Concrete  or  Cement  Silos. 

The  monolithic  silo  has  reference  to  the  one  continuous  solid 
mass  or  "as  one  stone"  silo  where  the  concrete  is  poured  in  forms. 
Wherever  the  old  forms  of  silo  construction  are  well  established 
it  is  but  natural  that  opposition  to  newer  types  should  arise. 
The  concrete  silo,  therefore,  in  common  with  some  of  the  other 
types  described  in  this  chapter,  had  to  gain  headway  in  the 
face  of  much  adverse  criticism. 

Among  the  arguments  against  concrete  were  that  the  walls 
were  not  air  or  moisture-proof;  that  they  failed  as  heat  re- 
tainers and  allowed  the  contents  to  freeze  very  easily;  and  that 
the  silage  acids  affected  the  concrete  causing  soft,  crumbly  walls 
that  were  easily  cracked.  In  fairness  to  all  concerned  it  may 
be  said  that  these  arguments  were  greatly  overworked.  If 
properly  built  and  painted  inside  with  a  wash  of  pure  cement, 
concrete  can  be  made  both  air-proof  and  moisture-proof;  where 
the  wood  silo  gains  as  a  non-conductor  of  heat,  it  loses  in  having 
much^thinner  walls,  and  the  double  wall  concrete  silo  largely 
overcomes  freezing.  As  to  acidity,  the  experience  of  thousands 
proves  this  to  be  practically  a  negligible  quantity  where  a  pure 
cement  or  coal  tar  wash  is  applied  every  two  or  three  years, 
the  acids  having  less  effect  on  cement  than  on  either  metal  or 
wood.  Among  other  claimed  advantages  of  the  concrete  silo  are 
these:  they  neither  shrink  in  hot,  dry  weather  nor  swell  up  in 
damp  weather;  they  maintain  a  more  even  temperature;  they 
are  vermin  proof;  they  will  last  practically  forever  and  need 
no  repairs,  and  they  are  fire-proof. 

Concrete  grows  stronger  and  tougher  with  age,  outlasting  al- 
most every  other  known  material.  Reinforced  concrete,  selected 
for  great  engineering  projects  such  as  long  bridges,  massive 
dams  and  lofty  skyscrapers,  is  considered  the  strongest  and 
most  enduring  construction  known. 

"Reinforced  concrete  or  concrete  steel  is  very  much  stronger 
than  ordinary  concrete,"  say  Bulletin  No.  125  of  the  University 
of  Wisconsin.  "Reinforced  concrete  is  concrete  in  which  steel 
rods  or  wires  are  irn.bedded  in  such  a  way  as  to  take  the  strain. 
By  placing  wire  rods  in  the  concrete  it  is  possible  to  make  the 
walls  or  beams  much  thinner  or  lighter  than  would  otherwise 
be  possible  and  obtain  the  required  strength.  By  reinforcing  the 
concrete  with  steel  much  cement  is  saved. 


84 


SILOS   OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


"If  it  were  possible  to  have  the 
work  skillfully  done  a  cement  silo  16 
feet  in  diameter  and  35  feet  high 
could  be  built  of  reinforced  concrete 
with  walls  only  2  or  3  inches  thick 
and  be  abundantly  strong.  But  labor 
sufficiently  skilled  to  do  this  would 
cost  too  much,  so  that  it  would  be 
cheaper  to  use  twice  as. much  cement; 
make  wall  6  or  8  inches  thick  and  use 
less  skilled  labor.  If  the  work  is 
carefully  done  using  ordinary  labor 
it  is  practical  to  build  silos  16  feet 
in  diameter  and  35  feet  high  with  6 
or  8  inch  walls  if  the  steel  rod  is  laid 
in  the  wall  every  2  or  3  feet." 

Reinforced  concrete  offers  great 
possibilities  for  silo  building.  The 
lateral  pressure  on  the  walls  when  tha 
silo  is  filled  is  very  great,  but  the 
circular  shape  renders  it  very  easy 
to  reinforce.  The  single  or  solid  wall 
is  most  generally  used.  Good  four- 
inch  wall  silos  have  been  built,  but 


Fig.  27.  — Cement  Silo 
and  No.  17  Ohio  Cut- 
ter at  Experiment 
Station,  Sao  Paulo, 
Brazil. 


the  six-inch  wall  offers  greater  convenience  in  placing  reinforce- 
ment and  justifies  the  use  of  more  material.  The  saving  of  ma- 
terial by  making  the  wall  lighter  at  the  top  would  hardly  offset 
the  trouble  of  varying  the  size  of  the  forms. 

The  double  wall  or  hollow  wall  concrete  silos  were  designed 
partly  to  overcome  the  freezing  of  the  silage  which  has  been  the 
one  disadvantage  of  solid  walls  especially  in  cold  climates.  Ma- 
chines are  now  on  the  market  that  easily  and  successfully  build 
reinforced  and  continuous  hollow  walls.  Iowa  Bulletin  No.  141, 
referring  doubtless  to  conditions  in  that  section,  states  that  "the 
double  wall  concrete  silo  at  present  is  made  only  with  patented 
forms.  The  inner  wall  is  5%  inches  thick,  the  outer  wall  3^ 
inches  thick,  and  the  two  tied  together  with  steel  ties  with  a 
three-inch  air  space  between.  Circulation  is  prevented  by  insert- 
ing horizontal  tar  paper  partitions  every  3%  feet.  This  construc- 
tion, besides  being  as  satisfactory  as  the  single  wall  method, 


REINFORCEMENT  FOR  SILOS. 


85 


places  it  entirely  above  any  criticism  in  regard  to  freezing.  The 
patent  forms  being  made  of  steel  plate  enable  a  very  smooth  job 
to  be  secured.  In  general  it  would  seem  that  the  expense  of  a 
double  wall  is  not  justified  except  in  cold  climates." 

The  foundation,  as  in  all  other  concrete  structures,  is  very 
important.  Not  only  must  it  serve  as  an  anchor  to  protect  the 
structure  against  wind  pressure,  but  it  must  also  be  very  strong 
and  firm  or  the  great  weight  upon  it  will  cause  it  to  settle  un- 
evenly, in  which  event  the  walls  are  liable  to  crack  and  so  admit 
air;  consequently,  spoiled  silage  will  be  the  result.  Where  there 
is  a  good  clay  floor,  a  concrete  floor  in  the  silo  is  not  necessary. 

"The  concrete  silo  when  built  as  a  monolith  is  practically  a 
unit.  Its  walls  and  roof  are  bound  together  by  a  net-work  of 
steel,  laid  in  the  concrete  so  as  to  withstand  pressure  from  the 
inside,"  says  Wisconsin  Bulletin  No.  214.  "A  silo  built  this  way 
usually  has  walls  six  inches  thick,  which  are  reinforced  in  pro- 
portion to  their  size  and  capacity.  The  greater  the  height  of  a 
silo,  the  greater  the  pressure  on  the  wall  at  the  bottom." 

Any  silo  bonded  by  ce- 
ment is  subject  to  contrac- 
tion and  expansion  due  to 
changes  of  moisture  and 
temperature  and  should, 
therefore,  be  reinforced 
both  horizontally  and  ver- 
tically. Perhaps  the  best 
reinforcement  is  secured 
by  twisting  No.  9  tele- 
phone wire  together  and 
forming  a  cable.  This 
offers  a  rougher  surface 
than  the  steel  rods  and 
forms  a  continuous  band, 

which  is  very  effective.  The  reinforcement  should  be  laid  in  the 
wall  about  one  or  two  inches  from  the  outside  surface.  Vertical  re- 
inforcement should  be  used  in  silos  25  feet  high  or  more  and  is  also 
convenient  for  binding  the  circular  cables  in  place.  Short  three- 
foot  lengths  of  %-inch  steel  rods  are  most  satisfactory  for  this 
purpose  as  they  can  be  hooked  together  as  the  silo  rises  and  not 


Fig.     28.  —  Horizontal 
around  silo  door. 


Reinforcing 


86 


SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


be  in  the  way  in  raising  the  forms.  The  size  and  spacing  of  hori- 
zontal reinforcing  needed  for  silos  is  shown  in  tables  reproduced 
herewith  from  Wisconsin  Bulletin  No.  214. 

Table   VIM. — Amount   of   Reinforcement    Needed    for   Silos. 

Size  and  Spacing  of  Horizontal  Reinforcement  Around  Silo. 


Distance  in  Feet 
Measured  from  Top 
of  Silo 

For  Silos  14  ft.  to  18  ft.  in 
Diameter,  Using  No.  9  Wire. 

For  Silos  14  ft,  to  18  ft.  in 
Diameter.  Using  %  inch  Mild 
Steel  Rods. 

No.  of  Wires 
in  Cable 

Distance 
Apart  of  Cables 

No.  of  Rods 

Dis-tance 
Apart  of  Reds 

0—5  

2 
2 
2 

4 
4 
4 
5 
5 

Inches. 
12 
10 
8 
8 
6 
6 
6 
4 

1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 

1 
1 

Inches. 
18 
18 
14 
12 
10 
8 
6 
4 

5—10            

10—15          

15—20          

20—25              .... 

25  —  so 

30  —  35                 .  . 

35  —  40 

Vertical    Reinforcement. 


Height  of  Silo  in  ft. 

For  Silos  14  ft.  to  18  ft.  Diameter 

No.  of  Wires  in 
Each  Cable 

Distance 
Apart  of  Cables 

No.  of  Rods 

Distance 
Apart  of  Rods 

25  30 

4 

6 

8 

Inches. 
24 
24 
24 

1 

1 
1 

Inches. 
30 
20 
14 

30  35 

35  40 

Figure  29  illustrates  how  a  very  satisfactory  continuous  door- 
way can  be  made  by  forming  concrete  jambs  on  both  sides  of  the 
opening,  with  a  recess  on  inner  side  for  the  2-inch  plank  doors  to 
fit  against.  The  forms  for  these  jambs  should  be  erected  between 
the  inner  and  outer  forms  of  the  silo  wall,  and  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  1-inch  ladder  rounds  form  the  binder  or  horizontal  reinforcing 
across  the  door  opening  and  should  be  in  position  and  twisted 
around  the  vertical  reinforcing  rod.  Spacers  consisting  of  2x4's 
at  intervals  of  two  feet,  will  hold  the  jamb  forms  apart  rigidly 
and  prevent  them  from  bulging  from  the  pressure  of  the  concrete. 


CONTINUOUS  DOORS  FOR  SILOS. 


87 


The  vertical  jamb  forms   may  be  made   in   sections   of  any   con- 
venient length,  preferably  from  six  to  twelve  feet. 


Fig.  29. — Continuous  Doorway,  with  concrete  jambs,  showing  man- 
ner of  anchoring  to  the  vertical  reinforcing,  and  position  of 
plank  doors. 

— Courtesy  Universal  Portland  Cement  Co.,  Chicago. 

Care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  wooden  forms  absolutely 
vertical.  All  surfaces  of  wood  which  will  come  into  contact  with 
the  concrete  should  be  planed  and  oiled,  which  will  insure  a 
smooth  surface  and  prevent  the  wood  from  adhering  to  the  con- 
crete. Full  illustrated  details  regarding  constructions  of  this 
kind  will  be  found  in  catalogs  issued  by  several  cement  manufac- 
turers. 

Local  conditions  largely  govern  the  cost  of  concrete  silos.  The 
ruling  factors  are  the  price  of  gravel  and  cement  and  the  cost 
of  labor.  An  investigation  was  made  during  the  spring  of  1911 
by  a  large  concrete  manufacturing  company  to  ascertain  the 
actual  cost  of  78  monolithic  silos  scattered  through  Minnesota, 


88  SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 

Wisconsin,  Illinois,  and  Michigan.  The  total  cost  included  ma- 
terial, labor,  superintendence  and  all  miscellaneous  expenses  in- 
curred in  preparing  the  silos,  ready  to  receive  the  crops.  Where 
sand  and  gravel  were  obtained  on  the  farm  the  expense  of  haul- 
ing plus  a  fair  price  for  materials  was  included.  The  average 
cost  of  the  78  silos  was  $2.30  per  ton  capacity.  The  20  silos 
having  capacity  100  tons  or  less  cost  $2.89  per  ton.  32  silos  with 
capacity  from  100  to  200  tons  cost  $2.38  per  ton.  The  remaining 
26  silos  having  capacity  of  more  than  200  tons  each,  cost  $2.18 
per  ton  capacity. 


Fig.   30. — Showing   method   of   tying   roof   to   wall,   and   of   rein- 
forcing across  door  opening. 

— Courtesy  Wisconsin  Bulletin  No.  214. 

We  quote  from  Bulletin  No.  125  of  the  Wisconsin  station. 

"A  common  type  of  form  used  in  making  a  continuous  wall 
or  monolithic  structure  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  31.  A  is  the  outside 
form  and  B  the  inside  form.  These  forms  are  made  as  segments 
of  the  circle  6  or  10  feet  in  length  and  1%  to  3  feet  deep.  A 
form  is  made  by  taking  two  pieces  of  plank  2x12  or  2x14,  LL  and 
TJU,  Fig.  51  A,  sawing  them  out  to  the  curvature  of  the  circle. 
These  are  placed  horizontally  as  girts  and  the  short  planks  P  are 
set  vertically  nailing  them  to  the  girts,  LU.  The  form  31  B  is 
made  in  the  reverse  of  31  A. 

"In  building  the  wall,  form  B  is  set  inside  of  form  A  and  6  to 
12  inches  from  it  depending  on  the  thickness  desired  for  the  wall, 
and  the  concrete  is  filled  in  between  the  forms." 

The  building  of  a  concrete  silo  involves  careful  attention  to 
the  construction  and  proper  bracing  of  the  forms  or  moulds,  and 
to  the  reinforcing  and  the  bonding  of  the  various  courses.  It  is 
therefore  suggested  that  unless  a  farrrrr  has  had  some  experience 


FORMS  FOR  CONCRETE  SILOS. 


89 


A     Oute/de 
form 


Fig.  31. — Illustrates  method  of  making  form  for  constructing  con- 
crete walls.  The  forms  are  made  of  plank  and  are  made  in 
sections  4  to  10  feet  long,  requiring  5  to  8  sections  to  complete 
the  circle. 

—Courtesy  Wisconsin  Experiment  Station. 

with  other  concrete  work  about  the  farm,  he  should  not  attempt 
to  build  the  silo  himself  but  should  turn  the  job  over  to  a  con- 
crete contractor  under  a  guarantee  for  only  a  first-class  silo. 

The  difficulty  and  expense  connected  with  the  preparation  of 
proper  forms  has  led  to  the  adoption  of  co-operative  effort  in 
many  sections.  Some  of  the  corn  belt  Agricultural  Colleges  make 
a  practice  of  loaning  to  farmers  at  a  nominal  cost  a  set  of  forms 
together  with  the  services  of  an  expert.  Manufacturers  of  mould 
and  mixing  equipment  are  also  attempting  to  supply  farmers  with 
monolithic  reinforced  silos  at  minimum  cost.  One  of  these, 
known  as  the  MONSCO,  has  a  standarized  outfit,  consisting  of 
scaffold-hoist  with  derrick,  steel  moulds  for  walls  and  chute,  and 
power  mixer.  The  moulds  are  made  in  two  circles  each  3  feet  in 
height,  divided  into  easily  handled  segments.  Six  feet  of  wall 
per  day  is  poured,  reinforcement  and  ladder  irons  being  installed 


90  SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 

at  the  same  time  and  chute  also  being  poured.  The  walls  are  6 
inches  thick  from  top  to  bottom.  The  reinforcement  used  is 
American  Steel  and  Wire  Company  cold-drawn  triangular  mesh, 
woven  in  various  weights.  This  mesh  provides  sufficient  vertical 
reinforcement  to  prevent  temperature  cracks. 

Hy-Rib  Concrete  and   Metal  Lath  Reinforced  Silos. 

The  Hy-Rib  Concrete  Silo,  so-called  because  of  its  steel-rib 
basis,  has  recently  met  with  considerable  success.  It  applies  to 
silo  building  the  principles  of  monolithic  reinforced  construction 
so  successfully  used  in  other  buildings.  In  this  type  of  silo  no 
forms  or  framework  for  the  walls  are  required.  Sheets  of  stiff, 
firm  steel  sheathing  are  used,  having  a  rough  open  surface,  and 
one  inch  projecting  ribs  every  four  inches  of  height.  These 
sheets  are  about  two  feet  wide  by  10  or  12  feet  long.  The  first 
round  of  sheathing  is,  of  course,  properly  imbedded  and  anchored 
in  the  foundation  wall. 


Fig.  33. — Cross  Section  of  Foundation  of  Hy-Rib   Silo. — Courtesy 
Trussed  Concrete  Steel  Co.,  Youngstown. 

The  following-  printed  matter  has  come  to  our  attention  and 
gives  more  complete  information  on  reinforced  cement  and  concrete 
silo  construction. 

Bulletin  No.  255,  "Cement  Silos  in  Michigan,"  published  by  Ex- 
periment Station,  East  Lansing,  Mich.  "Silo  Construction  in 
Nebraska,"  by  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Lincoln,  Nebr. 
Bulletin  No.  100,  "Modern  Silo  Construction,"  and  No.  107,  "The  Iowa 
Silo,"  published  by  Experiment  Station,  Ames,  Iowa.  Farmers' 
Bulletin  No.  405,  "Cement  Silos,"  and  No.  689,  "Home  Made  Silos," 
by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C., 
and  booklets  on  "Concrete  Silos,"  published  by  the  Universal  Port- 
land Cement  Co.,  Chicago,  Ills.,  The  Trussed  Concrete  Steel  Co., 
Youngstown,  Ohio,  and  Monolithic  Silo  and  Construction  Co., 
Chicago,  Ills. 


METAL-LATH  PLASTERED  SILOS.  91 

The  Hy-Rib  Concrete  Silo  differs  from  the  metal-lath  silo  in 
that  the  latter  requires  a  temporary  framework  of  2x4  studding 
on  which  to  tack  the  lath,  whereas  in  the  steel-rib  silo,  the  sheets 
of  steel  are  thoroughly  locked  tog-ether  at  both  sides  and  ends, 
forming-  a  firm,  self -sustained  framework  or  foundation  of  itself. 
To  this  the  concrete  is  applied  in  the  form  of  a  1:2%  waterproof 
cement  plaster  to  a  total  thickness  of  from  3  to  3%  inches,  as 
shown  in  the  illustration,  Fig.  33.  Indeed,  the  manufacturer! 
claim  that  they  have  silos  of  this  construction  in  use  20x58  feet 
in  size  with  the  walls  at  the  thickest  point  not  more  than  2% 
inches. 

The  Metal  Lath  Plastered  Cement  Silo  also  stands  well  to  the 
front,  from  the  standpoint  of  strength,  economy  and  practicabil- 
ity. It  is  put  up  without  forms  except  for  the  door  posts  and 
studding,  the  cement  being  applied  in  the  form  of  plaster  to  both 
the  inside  and  outside  of  the  metal  lath.  This  is  accomplished  by 
tacking  the  lath  to  the  inside  of  the  temporary  frame  work  of 
2x4  studding  and  applying  several  coats  of  cement  or  plaster,  the 
studding  then  being  removed  and  the  outside  plastered.  Where 
materials  used  in  construction  are  excessively  high  in  price,  it 
will  prove  cheaper  to  erect  than  the  monolithic  structure  because 
the  walls  are  only  about  three  inches  thick.  Skilled  labor  is  re- 
quired for  this  type  of  silo.  Care  must  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
various  coats  of  cement  from  drying  out  rapidly,  otherwise  the 
next  coat  will  not  form  a  perfect  union  and  the  strength  of  the 
wall  will  be  reduced.  When  properly  constructed  this  silo  will 
be  found  amply  strong  for  the  work  required. 

After  the  good  solid  concrete  foundation  is  finished,  a  four-or- 
five-platform  scaffold  must  be  erected  inside,  before  any  other  work 
is  done.  The  form  for  the  continuous  door  frame  should  then  be 
built  on  the  ground,  complete  with  all  reinforcing,  and  raised  to  po- 
sition. 2x4  studding,  with  plates  on  top,  are  then  placed  in  position 
and  fastened.  The  24-gauge  expanded  metal  or  metal-lath  is  then 
tacked  to  the  inside  with  double-pointed  tacks,  beginning  at  the 
top  and  at  the  door  post.  Each  strip  of  lath  should  be  tacked  first 
in  the  middle  and  should  conform  to  the  circular  shape  of  the  silo 
before  the  ends  are  tacked.  After  the  several  layers  of  cement 
or  plaster  have  been  applied  and  are  dry,  the  studding  may  be 
removed  and  additional  horizontal  reinforcement  in  the  form  of 
strands  of  heavy  wire  should  be  placed  around  the  silo,  care  being 


92 


SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


taken  to  anchor  same  to  vertical  reinforcement  in  the  door  posts 
before  any  mortar  is  placed.  A  silo  16  by  30  feet  will  require  150 
pounds  of  additional  wire  reinforcement.  The  silo  should  be 
plastered  on  the  outside  at  least  one  inch  in  thickness.  A  metal- 
lath  silo  of  the  above  dimensions,  of  about  120  tons  capacity,  can 
be  built  for  from  $225  to  $275.  The  cost  of  these  silos  has  not 
exceeded  three  dollars  a  ton  capacity  in  any  case,  the  average  be- 
ing considerably  less  than  this  amount. 

Mr.  George  C.  Wheeler  of  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College  Ex- 
tension Service  says:  "The  first  round  of  the  metal-lath  which 
forms  the  chief  reinforcement  of  this  silo,  must  have  its  edge  em- 
bedded 5  or  6  inches  in  the  top  of  the  foundation  in  order  to  in- 
sure a  perfect  union  between  the  foundation  and  the  wall  proper. 
When  the  trench  has  been  filled  to  within  about  6  inches  of  the 
top  and  the  concrete  brought  to  an  approximate  level,  the  lath, 
which  comes  in  strips  8  feet  long  and  18  inches  wide,  should  be 
stood  on  edge  and  concrete  poured  on  both  sides  of  it.  Its  posi- 
tion should  be  t»n  a  circle  having  a  radius  2  inches  greater  than 
the  inside  radius  of  the  finished  silo.  As  the  strips  of  lath  are 
stood  up  and  the  mortar  poured  in,  they  should  be  carefully 
curved  and  their  exact  position  determined.  The  strips  of  lath 
should  be  lapped  about  three  inches  at  the  ends,  and  when  the 
circle  is  completed  the  wall  outside  of  the  lath  should  be  leveled. 
The  wall,  while  still  green,  should  be  smoothed  up  as  much  a» 
possible." 

Modifications  —  Double 
and  Single  Wall. — A  mod- 
ification of  this  type  of 
metal  lath  construction  is 
shown  in  the  illustration  of 
Fig.  34.  In  this  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  lath  or  rib- 
bed-steel is  tacked  to  both 
the  inside  and  the  outside 
of  the  studding  and  plas- 
tered or  cemented,  forming 


a  double  or  hollow  wall 
construction.  This  would 
doubtless  require  less  skill- 
ed labor  than  where  the 
studding  is  removed,  and 
the  double  wall  would  bet- 
ter adapt  it  for  cold 


Fig.  34. — Showing  double  wall  met- 
al-lath silo. — Courtesy  General 
Fireproofing  Co.,  Youngstown. 

climates.      A      single      wall      silo      of 


CEMENT  BLOCK  SILOS. 


93 


this  same  type  is  built  by  replacing  the  studding  with  %  inch 
vertical  rods  to  which  every  rib  of  the  metal  is  firmly  wired.  In 
this  way  only  one  wall  of  the  ribbed-steel  is  used  and  it  is  plas- 
tered on  both  sides  to  a  total  thickness  of  about  2^  inches. 

Cement  Block  Silos. 

The  cement  block  silo  is  sometimes  preferable  to  other  types. 
It  will  be  found  cheaper  and  easier  to  erect  than  the  monolithic 
concrete  silo  and  although  perhaps  not  so  strong  as  the  solid 
wall,  it  is  probably  as  good  as  any  silo  when  properly  con- 
structed. The  architectural  effect  is  very  pleasing,  especially 
where  the  rough  exterior  is  used.  The  blocks  should  be  well 
made  and  plenty  of  reinforcement  used.  The  reinforcement  con- 
sists of  steel  bands  or  rods  laid  in  the  wall  between  the  courses  as 
in  brick  or  stone  construction.  They  should  be  entirely  cov- 
ered by  mortar  to  protect  them  from  rust. 

Cement  blocks-  are  easily  made  at  home  or  may  be  secured 
at  numerous  factories.  In  many  cases  the  manufacturers  will 
move  out  their  forms,  mixers  and  other  utensils  and  make  the 
blocks  at  the  building  site  at  less  expense  than  for  the  monolith. 
This  is  because  the  work  can  be  done  with  greater  facility  on 
the  ground  level  than  up  in  the  air  on  scaffolding.  With  a  little 
practice  any  mason  can  learn  how  to  lay  the  blocks  and  follow 
specifications. 

The  Nebraska  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  Bulletin,  No.  138,  has  the  follow- 
ing regarding  cement  block  silos:  "There 
are  three  general  types  of  blocks  which 
can  be  used  for  silo  construction,  the  solid 
block,  the  hollow  block  and  the  two-piece 
block.  These  blocks  may  have  rough  or 
smooth  outsides  and  may  be  either  curved 
or  straight.  The  straight  blocks,  of 
course,  will  need  to  be  plastered  on  the 
inside  to  produce  a  smooth  surface  to  the 
silo. 

"When    cement   blocks    are   made   very 
fast,    it    is    essential    that    the    mixture    of 
which  the  body  of  the  block  is  made  be 
Fig.  35. — Type  of  con-    Quite    dry.      Concrete    when    used    in    this 
crete      block      which   way  is  <*uite  porous.     If  the  face   of   the 
can   be    used    in    silo   blocks    can    either    be    of    a    much    richer 
construction.     *  mixture    than    the   body   of   the    block    or 

be  made  of  very  wet  concrete  and  trow- 
eled, a  much  better  block  for  silo  construction  can  be  made.     It  is 


94 


SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


preferable  that  the  face  of  the  block  be  both  richer  and  wetter 
than  the  body  of  the  block;  also,  if  the  face  of  the  block  be  trow- 
eled it  makes  a  block  which  will  not  absorb  moisture.  Whenever 
it  is  not  possible  to  make  or  obtain  blocks  of  this  nature  the  in- 
side of  the  silo  should  be  plastered  after  the  walls  are  laid.  If 
the  expense  of  plastering  is  too  great,  the  walls  can  be  washed 
or  painted  with  a  mixture  of  one  part  cement  and  one  part  fine 
screened  sand.  This  will  take  the  place  of  plastering  as  far 
as  sealing  the  pores  in  the  blocks  is  concerned,  but  does  not 
leave  the  wall  as  smooth  as  plaster. 

"The  solid  block,  such  as  is  shown  by  'a,'  Figure  55,  is  ad- 
visable only  when  a  machine  has  to  be  made  and  one  cannot 
be  constructed  which  will  make  the  hollow  blocks.  This  solid 
block  is  more  quickly  made  than  the  others,  but  requires  more 
material,  is  heavier  and  harder  to  handle,  and  conducts  heat 
and  cold  more  readily." 

The  two-piece  blocks  such  as  shown  by  "b,"  Figure  55,  are 
made  to  lay  up  in  the  silo  wall  so  that  the  leg  of  one  in  the  inside 
wall  will  overlap  the  leg  of  one  in  the  outside  wall  but  in  the 


Fig.    36. — Showing    how    the    two-piece    cement    block 
is  laid  in  the  wall  and  the  door  frame. 

course  above  it.  Figure  56  shows  that  these  blocks  make  nearly 
a  perfect  dead-air  space  so  that  the  silage  is  less  apt  to  freeze, 
as  heat  will  not  be  transferred  back  and  forth  through  the  walls 
as  readily.  Blocks  made  in  the  above  manner  can  have  a 
wetter  and  richer  mixture  in  the  face  than  in  the  back  and 
the  face  can  also  be  troweled. 


CEMENT   BLOCK  SILOS. 


95 


Fig.  37. — Illustrates  a  type  of  concrete  block  used  in  silo 
construction.  H  H  are  holes  left  in  blocks.  T  and  M 
are  dove -tailed  tenon  and  mortise  so  made  that  blocks 
interlock  when  laid  on  the  wall.  G  is  a  groove  made  in 
block  to  imbed  iron  rod  for  reinforcing  the  wall. 

— Courtesy  Wisconsin   Experiment   Station. 

The  Nebraska  Station  has  designed  a  special  machine  for 
making  these  two-piece  blocks  and  also  a  machine  which  will 
make  the  single  piece  hollow  block  as  shown  in  "c,"  Figure  35. 
This  block  cannot  be  made  as  fast  as  the  two-piece  block  but 
is  much  easier  to  lay.  It  gives  the  troweled  surface  inside  but 
not  outside  nor  does  it  give  as  perfect  a  dead-air  space. 


Fig.  38. — This  form  of  block  requires  less  material  and  does 
not  freeze  so  readily  as  the  solid  block.  Note  manner 
of  reinforcing  by  %-in.  iron  binders. 

Commercial  blocks  like  "d"  Figure  35  are  very  common.  They 
may  be  either  straight  or  curved  to  fit  the  curvature  of  the  silo. 
Being  generally  very  porous  they  should  be  plastered  on  the 
inside  after  being  put  into  the  wall.  Curved  blocks  require  less 
plaster  but  plaster  must  be  used  anyway  and  a  straight  block 
not  exceeding  16  inches  in  length  will  make  a  good  silo.  The 
usual  dimensions  of  curved  blocks  are  8x8x16  or  24  inches. 

Cement  blocks  are  usually  made  of  finer  materials  than  are 
the  solid  monolithic  walls.  The  blocks  are  made  of  sand  and 
cement;  or  if  any  gravel  is  used  it  is  very  fine  gravel  whereas, 
in  the  continuous  wall  monolithic  construction,  coarser  gravel  or 


96 


SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


crushed  stone  is  more  commonly  used.  This  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  the  monolithic  wall  is  stronger  than  the  block  wall. 

Good  block  silos  can  be  put  up  with  home-made  blocks  and 
by  home  labor,  but  an  experienced  contractor  is  recommended, 
if  convenient.  No  blocks  that  are  cracked,  broken  or  crumbly, 
should  be  used,  and  all  blocks  should  have  good  water-resisting 
qualities.  A  small  amount  of  water  placed  on  the  surface,  if 
readily  absorbed,  indicates  a  poor  block  for  silo  purposes. 

The  Iowa  Bulletin  No.  141  says  that  "the  practice  of  using 
wooden  studs  for  the  door  frame  in  mortar  at  the  ends  of  the 
blocks  and  at  each  side  of  the  doorway  and  bolted  to  the  steel 
frame  cannot  be  criticised  too  severely.  This  stud  is  placed 
under  conditions  best  adapted  to  cause  rapid  decay.  Often  it 
is  so  constructed  that  it  cannot  be  replaced  without  much  diffi- 
culty and  thus  the  durability  of  the  entire  structure  is  impaired 
by  the  use  of  a  single  part."  Fig.  39  illustrates  a  poured  con- 
crete door  frame  that  avoids  this  difficulty. 


Ends   of  rotf 


Fig.   39. — Continuous    door   opening   for   concrete   block   silo. 
View    shows    the   manner    of   fastening   reinforcing   rods 
to  the  door  frames,  also  of  anchoring  rods  around  a  block 
instead  of  lapping. 
— Courtesy  Universal  Portland   Cement  Co.,  Chicago. 


FOUNDATION  AND  ROOF  TYPES. 


97 


Foundations.  —  Concrete 
block  silos  require  heavier 
foundation  footings  than  do 
clay  block  or  wooden  silos. 
They  should  not  be  less 
than  28  inches  wide  at  the 
bottom  and  2  feet  deep. 
A  mixture  of  one  part  ce- 
ment, three  parts  sand,  and 
six  parts  broken  stone  or 
course  gravel  will  make  a 
mixture  for  the  footings  and 
foundation  walls. 


Fig.  40.  —  Two  types  of  foun- 
dation for  cement  block 
silos.  —  Courtesy  Nebraska 
Station. 

The  Roof.  —  Figure  41  illustrates 
the  cornice  work  and  forms  for  a 
concrete  roof  to  correspond  in  per-  Fig.  41.  —  Illustrating  how 


manence  and  fire-proof  qualities 
with  the  remainder  of  the  silo.  A 
one-third  pitch  is  recommended. 


to  build  cornice  for  con- 
crete roof  on  a  concrete 
block  silo._Courtesy  Ne. 

braska    Station. 


Patented  Reinforcements. — The  weak  point  in  any  sectional 
block  construction  is  in  the  joints  between  the  blocks  and  the 
attempts  to  overcome  this  are  demonstrated  in  many  forms 
of  patented  reinforced  cement  blocks  now  being  used  for 
silo  building.  Where  the  blocks  are  made  of  a  poured  or  gravity 
mixture,  using  the  best  quality  of  cement,  sand  and  gravel  ob- 
tainable, they  are  extremely  dense  and  strong.  One  of  these, 
known  as  the  Hurst  System,  uses  blocks  24x12x4  inches  thick. 
Running  laterally  through  each  block  are  two  %  inch  round 


98 


SILOS   OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


steel  rods,  the  ends 
of  which  are  turned 
up  two  inches  in  small 
recesses  in  each  end 
of  the  block.  When 
the  blocks  are  laid 
into  the  silo  wall, 
these  turned  ends 
and  recesses  match 
corresponding  ones 
in  the  adjoining 
block,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  42.  A  %  inch 
round  steel  link  is 
then  slipped  over  the 
two  turned  ends 

which  are  afterwards  bent  back  and  drawn  tight  and  the  recess 
filled  in  with  cement.  This  method  of  construction  is  said  to  be 
very  powerful  and  to  give  excellent  results. 

Another  method  similar  to  the  above,  known  as  the  Harvey 
system,  uses  reinforcing  rods  which  are  turned  at  right  angles, 
one  turned  vertically  hooking  over  the  other  turned  laterally. 
Upright  rods  are  imbedded  in  each  block  and  fit  between  blocks 
of  the  course  above.  This  permits  the  building  of  a  double  wall 
if  desired,  the  two  walls  being  tied  together  with  steel  strips 
running  diagonally  between  the  upright  rods. 


Fig.  42. — Showing  one  method  of  sec- 
tional block  reinforcement. — Cour- 
tesy Hurst  Silo  Co.,  Chicago. 


Cement  Stave  Silo. 

The  cement  stave  silo  is  built  of  concrete  slabs  or  staves  30 
inches  long,  about  10  inches  wide  and  2y2  inches  thick.  They 
have  a  curved  interlocking  edge  and  are  built  into  a  wall, 
forming  a  wall  of  thickness  of  the  block  and  bound  together 
with  hoops  on  the  outside.  With  good  quality  blocks,  properly 
treated  with  a  water-proof  wash  so. as  to  be  impervious,  this 
type  of  silo  is  a  success.  It  is  claimed  for  them  that  all  danger 
of  cracking  due  to  contraction  and  expansion  is  eliminated. 
For  this  reason  although  the  steel  hoops  are  not  protected  they 
need  no  adjustment  when  once  set. 


VITRIFIED  TILE  SILOS.  99 

Vitrified  Tile  Silos. 

Vitrified  clay  blocks  have  during  the  past  few  years  com- 
manded considerable  attention  for  building  purposes.  The  dura- 
bility of  this  material  is  indicated  in  a  quotation  from  Sir  Charles 
Lyell's  Antiquity  of  Man. 

"Granite  disintegrates  and  crumbles  into  particles  of  mica, 
quartz,  and  feldspar;  marble  soon  moulders  into  dust  or  car- 
bonate of  lime,  but  hard,  well  burnt  clay  endures  forever  in  the 
ancient  landmarks  of  mankind." 

It  is  not  surprising  therefore  that  vitrified  tile  or  blocks 
are  being  used  extensively  for  silo  building.  They  have  a  hard, 
glass-like  crockery  surface,  impervious  alike  to  gas,  moisture, 
acid  or  air;  they  withstand  temperature  fluctuations  without 
contraction  or  expansion;  they  give  the  advantages  of  a  double 
or  triple  wall  with  dead-air  spaces;  they  are  easily  handled; 
and  when  properly  reinforced  against  the  bursting  pressure 
of  the  silage  they  have  no  superior  on  the  market. 

Iowa  Bulletin  No.  141  states  that  "in  clay  blocks  there  are 
many  grades  of  quality  ranging  from  almost  worthlessness  to 
one  of  the  highest  quality  of  building  material  known.  These 
variations  in  quality  are  due  mainly  to  three  causes,  quality 
of  raw  material,  method  of  burning,  and  defects  in  forming. 

"Brick  clays  are  made  up  principally  of  two  classes  of  ma- 
terial, one  that  melts  at  temperatures  usually  secured  in  the 
hottest  portions  of  the  brick  kilns,  and  one  that  remains  firm 
at  these  same  temperatures.  Proper  portions  of  each  of  these 
classes  of  material  are  essential.  The  former,  called  the  fluxing 
material  melts  and  binds  together  particles  of  the  latter,  while 
the  latter  preserves  the  desired  form  of  the  brick  or  block 
throughout  the  burning  process.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  as 
the  fluxing  material  fuses  it  will  fill  all  of  the  space  between 
the  *)ther  particles,  and  upon  extreme  heating  it  flows  out  over 
the  surface  giving  i't  a  glassy  appearance.  This  process  is  known 
as  vitrification. 

"In  all  kilns  the  blocks  nearest  the  fire  become  burned  harder 
than  the  other  blocks  and  in  any  kiln  only  a  portion  of  the 
blocks  will  be  fit  for  silo  construction.  For  this  reason  silo 
builders  should  not  expect  to  secure  such  blocks  at  less  than 
standard  prices  plus  a  reasonable  price  for  sorting." 

A  variety  of  patented  clay  blocks  and  different  methods  of 
reinforcement  are  now  in  use.  Many  of  these  have  special 
merits  in  the  details.  In  general,  the  same  methods  of  wire  or 
steel  bands  are  used  as  with  cement  block  silos.  A  study 
of  some  of  the  patented  blocks  illustrated  in  Fig.  43  will  bring 


100 


SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


out   many  of  the  details   of   construction.     A   represents   a   block 
with  curved  recess  at  top  and   bottom  for  reinforcing  rods  and 

a  flange  on  each  side  of  the  block 

C~^BI  so    tna-t   the   bulk   of   the   mortar 

HI  1          8Udlr  is    confined    in    the    wide    groove 

and  only  a  very  narrow  strip 
exposed.  B  calls  attention  to 
the  mitred  groove  at  top  and 
bottom  for  reinforcing  rods  to 
form  a  lock  joint.  The  narrow 
apertures  on  each  side  of  block 
form  a  tongue-and-groove  mor- 
tar joint  when  laid  in  the  wall. 
C  and  D  illustrate  the  door  jamb 
and  regular  blocks  of  another 
type.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
D  gives  plenty  of  room  on  top 
for  mortar  and  reinforcement. 
Still  another  type  of  silo  is  indi- 
cated by  the  blocks  E,  F,  G,  H 
and  I.  E  and  F  are  door  jamb 
blocks.  G  is  a  glazed  floor  or 
paving  block.  H  and  I  show 
two  views  of  the  regular  wall 
block.  J  illustrates  the  cast  iron 
door  sill  and  K  indicates  the 


Fig.  43.— Group  of  Patented   Clay  Blocks  of  various  manu 
facturers. 


FOUNDATIONS  FOR  BLOCK  SILOS. 


101 


reinforcement  across  door  opening.  L,  M,  N  and  O,  P,  Q  show 
two  types  of  door  jambs  and  regular  blocks  put  out  by  another 
manufacturer.  N  indicates  the  vertical  reinforcement  next  to 
the  door  around  which  the  wall  reinforcing  steel  is  placed.  The 
galvanized  iron  tie  R  for  the  door  opening  is  shown  in  position 
on  top  of  the  block  O. 


Tile  below  ground 
line  to  be   set  on 
end    and.  filled 
vVith  concrete 


A'ar  G'Concnebe  rtoor 

-T  .  .  i  Ji  • .  *i.  >  '. , ;  •  f7 

•£^£^Z+*. -M _ 

Cinder  filling  pnd  tile  drain. if  necessary 


Fig.  44. — Showing  two  methods  of  preparing  the  founda- 
tion for  clay  block  silos.  (Courtesy  Iowa  Experiment 
Station.) 


The  Iowa  silo  is  a  hollow  clay  tile  silo  that  was  designed  by  the 
Agricultural  Engineering  section  of  the  Iowa  Station.  It  is 
very  popular  as  it  does  not  require  special  blocks.  The  Iowa 
Silo  is  simple  in  construc- 
tion, durable,  efficient  and 
reasonably  cheap  where  the 
tile  can  be  obtained.  It  is 
built  of  regular  clay  hollow 
building  blocks  similar  to 
those  shown  in  the  illustra- 
tion of  Figure  47.  The  tile 
are  laid  in  cement  mortar 
which  contains  just  enough 
lime  to  make  the  mortar  stick 
well  (one  part  cement,  one- 
third  part  lime,  two  to  three 


parts    sand).       Number    three 


Fig.  46.— Clay  block  silo 
foundation.  —  (Nebraska 
Bulletin  No.  138.) 


102 


SILOS   OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


wire  is  laid  in  for  reinforcement,  the  amount  of  wire  used  being 
adjusted  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  lateral  pressure.  The  inside 
of  the  tile  may  be  plastered  or  simply  washed  with  a  cement 
wash. 


Fig.  47. — Five   types   of  clay  blocks  Fig.    48.  —  Silo 

which    can    be   used   for   silo    con-  cornice        for 

struction.     "A"  is  5"x8"x24";    "B"  clay     block 

is    5"x8"xl6";     "C"    is    4"x8"xl6";  silo. 

"D"  is  5"x5"xl6";  and  "E"  is 
4"x5"xl6".  (Cuts  from  Nebraska 
Bulletin  No.  138.) 

Figures   44,    46   and    48    illustrate   methods   of   constructing   the 
foundation  and  cornice  for  clay  block  silos. 


Brick  Silos. 

In  constructing  a  brick  silo  it  will  be  well  to  guard  the  fol- 
lowing points:  Make  the  foundation  of  concrete  and  let  the 
first  course  of  brick  come  flush  on  the  inside  with  the  cement 
work.  Bed  a  five-eighths  inch  iron  hoop  in  the  cement  wall  in 
the  upper  part  before  laying  the  brick,  in  order  to  keep  the 
pressure  of  brick  from  spreading  the  wall  before  it  becomes 
set  and  hard.  Make  a  two-inch  air  space  in  the  walls  up  to 
within  one-third  of  the  top.  This  will  make  a  14-inch  wall  of 
three  courses  of  brick.  The  air  space  should  be  in  the  outer 
part  of  the  wall.  Iron  tie  rods  should  also  be  laid  around  in 
the  wall  between  the  doors,  as  recommended  in  the  foundation. 
It  is  also  important  that  the  brick  should  be  wet  when  laid, 
otherwise  the  mortar  in  which  they  are  laid  will  be  dried  out 
too  rapidly.  The  walls  should  be  plastered  over  very  smoothly 
with  a  coat  of  rich  cement,  one-fourth  to  one-half  inch  thick, 
and  then  every  two  or  three  years  this  should  be  well  white- 
washed with  thin  cement,  to  keep  the  wall  protected  from  the 
effects  of  acid  in  the  silos.  King  recommends  that  the  door 


BRICK  AND  ALL-METAL  SILOS.  103 

jambs  be  made  of  3x6's  or  3x8's,  rabbetted  two  inches  deep  to 
receive  the  door  on  the  inside.  The  center  of  the  jambs  outside 
should  be  grooved  and  a  tongue  inserted  projecting  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  outward  to  set, back  into  the  mortar,  and  thus  secure 
a  thoroughly  air-tight  joint  between  wall  and  jamb.  The  doors 
may  be  made  of  two  layers  of  matched  flooring  with  tarred 
paper  between,  and  lag  screw  bolted  to  the  jamb,  so  as  to  give  a 
perfect  smooth  face  next  to  the  silage. 

Single  Wall  Brick  Silo. — A  100  ton  reinforced  brick  silo  was 
built  in  1909  by  the  West  Virginia  Experiment  Station  at  Mor- 
gantown,  and  described  in  their  Bulletin  129.  The  wall  was  laid 
up  the  width  of  a  brick  or  4  inches  thick  with  20d  annealed  wire 
nails  imbedded  in  the  cement  mortar  so  that  the  ends  projected 
from  the  wall  about  2  inches  into  the  silo.  When  the  cement 
mortar  had  hardened,  woven  wire  fencing  was  cut  into  pieces 
of  proper  length  and  fastened  close  to  the  inside  of  brick  wall 
with  the  clinched  nails.  Two  thicknesses  of  wire  were  used  for 
lower  half  of  silo  and  one  thickness  for  upper  half.  Each  strip 
lapped  2  inches  over  the  one  beneath.  This  wire  was  thor- 
oughly covered  with  cement  mortar  of  one  part  cement  and  three 
parts  sand.  Prof.  Atwood  writes  (Aug.,  1914)  that  the  silo 
has  given  excellent  satisfaction.  He  recommends,  however,  that 
the  wire  fencing  should  have  perfectly  straight  horizontal  wires, 
no  coils,  as  the  coils  stand  out  from  the  brick  work  and  necessitate 
more  plastering.  Many  silos  of  this  type  have  been  constructed 
during  the  past  two  years,  especially  in  the  South. 


Ail-Metal  Silos. 

The  canned  fruits  and  vegetables  for  our  tables  remain  good 
indefinitely  so  long  as  air  is  absolutely  excluded.  The  admission 
of  air,  in  however  slight  degree,  produces  mold  and  rot,  and 
destroys  a  very  considerable  part  of  the  food  value. 

Where  tests  have  been  made,  silos  made  of  metal  or  lined  with 
metal,  have  been  found  to  most  nearly  approach  the  air-tight 
containers  in  which  we  buy  our  canned  vegetables,  and  if  these 
metal  cans  are  good  for  our  dainty  table  delicacies  why  are 
they  not  good,  for  our  "canned  corn"  known  as  silage? 

The  fact  that  over   2,000   metal   silos  are  now   in   use  in   this 


104 


SILOS   OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 


country  and   that   their  sales   are  rapidly  increasing,   is  the  best 
evidence   of  the  entire   satisfaction   they  have  given. 

Metal  silos  are  not  new.  They  have  been  in  use  in  Australia 
for  nearly  20  years.  It  is  claimed  for  them  that  they  are  "wind- 
proof,  fire-proof,  crack-proof,  shrinkage-proof,  vermin-proof,  ex- 
pansion and  contraction-proof,  collapse-proof,  repair-proof;  there 
are  no  hoops  to  tighten,  no  anchors  or  guy  wires  to  install;  they 
are  highly  rust-resistant;  they  are  absolutely  non-porous,  hence 
are  moisture-tight  and  above  all  positively  air-tight." 


Fig.  45. — Two  large  Metal  Silos  and  Ohio  Cutter  at  Wagner  Bros., 
Groom,  Texas. — Courtesy  Perfection  Metal  Silo  Co.,  Topeka, 
Kansas. 


The  first  commercial  metal  silo,  erected  in  Iowa  in  1907,  is  still 
giving  very  satisfactory  service.  "It  was  built  of  interchangeable 
sections,  which  were  bolted  together  by  means  of  flanges  extend- 
ing outwardly  all  around  each  section.  This  method  of  con- 


ALL-METAL  SILOS.  105 

struction  forms  a  rigid  reinforcement  of  the  silo  wall,  and  pro- 
vides an  easy  and  practical  means  of  increasing  the  capacity  of 
the  silo  at  any  time,  by  bolting  on  additional  sections  to  the 
top.  It  also  makes  it  practical  to  move  the  silo  by  taking  the 
sections  apart  and  re-erecting  them  in  another  location." 

Mr.  Charles  P.  Buck,  writing  for  the  Kansas  State  Board 
of  Agriculture  in  1914,  says:  "The  metal  silos  are  made  air- 
tight by  pealing  the  joints  between  the  sections  with  a  cement 
of  an  elastic  nature,  unaffected  by  moisture,  cold  or  heat.  The 
silo  also  is  provided  with  a  means  by  which  the  doors,  through 
which  the  ensilage  is  thrown  down  into  the  feed  boxes,  are 
sealed  absolutely  air-tight,  thus  avoiding  one  serious  cause  of 
spoilage  and  loss. 

"The  two  questions  which  usually  arise  regarding  silos  .con- 
structed of  metal  are  regarding  the  action  of  the  silage  juices 
on  the  metal  and  the  radiation  of  the  heat  of  fermentation 
through  the  metal  wall. 

"Silage  juice,  after  the  fermentation,  is  slightly  acid,  con- 
taining minute  quantities  of  acetic  and  lactic  acids.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  protect  metal  silos  against  the  mild  acids  of  this 
juice  by  painting  the  interior  with  an  asphaltum  paint,  which 
forms  a  cheap,  durable  and  reliable  protection. 

"The  question  of  the  effect  of  radiated  heat  loss  during  fer- 
mentation is  best  answered  by  the  results  obtained  in  the  2,000 
or  more  metal  silos  now  in  use.  In  these  it  has  been  found 
that  the  silage  next  to  the  wall  is  as  thoroughly  fermented  and 
as  well  preserved  and  palatable  as  that  in  the  center  of  the 
silo.  There  probably  is  some  heat  lost  by  radiation,  but  there 
is  apparently  sufficient  heat  produced  during  the  fermentation 
to  supply  all  that  is  necessary  despite  the  radiated  loss. 

"Practical  use  in  the  field  has  demonstrated  that  the  metal 
silo  has  every  good  quality  which  has  been  desired  in  a  silo. 
Once  erected  it  is  permanently  air-tight  and  moisture-proof. 
The  form  of  construction  so  reinforces  it  that  it  is  secure  against 
high  winds,  it  requires  practically  no  care  or  expense  to  main- 
tain, and  produces  ensilage  without  mold  or  rot  and  consequent 
loss. 

"Properly  constructed  metal  silos  need  no  guy  wires,  cables 
nor  anchors.  They  are  secured  in  a  foundation  of  concrete  in 
much  the  same  way  as  are  modern  structural  steel  smokestacks 
of  immense  height. 

"The    leading    manufacturers,    have    by    careful    experiments 


106  SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 

found  that  it  is  possible  to  produce  a  metal  that  is  fully  re- 
sistent  to  the  chemical  action  of  the  silage  juices,  which  thus 
obviates  the  probability  of  any  rust  or  corrosion  of  any  kind. 

"Properly  constructed  metal  silos  are  so  strong  and  rigid  as 
to  be  readily  insured  against  cyclones  and  wind  storms.  One 
leading  manufacturer,  in  fact,  provides  purchasers  with  sucl? 
insurance  without  cost.  Metal  silos  are  fireproof  and  are  proof 
against  lightning  without  the  necessity  of  lightning  rods. 

"The  original  manufacturer  has  silos  in  use  in  nine  different 
states,  from  Mexico  to  Minnesota,  in  all  extremes  of  climatic 
conditions,  and  over  a  considerable  period  of  years.  As  a  result 
of  the  satisfactory  experience,  a  great  many  types  of  metal 
silos  have  been  devised,  from  those  riveted  up  like  a  railroad 
water  tank,  various  types  of  partly  riveted  and  partly  bolted 
sections,  to  those  of  interchangeable  sections  with  various  types 
of  flanges.  The  type  apparently  most  in  favor,  however,  is 
that  first  brought  out.  Numbers  of  metal  silos  are  in  use  as  irri- 
gation water  tanks  during  the  summer  when  empty  of  silage. 

"Any  question  of  the  durability  of  metal  silos  has  long  since 
been  completely  answered  by  their  continued  use  without  appar- 
ent defects,  rust  or  corrosion  of  any  kind.  Their  use  is  rapidly 
growing  in  all  sections  of  the  country,  East  and  West,  and  results 
are  everywhere  perfectly  satisfactory." 

Manufacturers  furnish  metal  silos  in  uniform  sized  sheets  or 
sections,  finished  complete  ready  to  bolt  into  the  silo.  The 
sheets  are  interchangeably  matching  and  are  about  two  feet 
wide  by  7%  feet  long.  Different  gauges  of  metal  are  used,  some 
having  a  strength  of  45,000  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  Lighter 
material  is  used  toward  the  top  in  proportion  to  the  diminishing 
pressure  exerted  by  the  silage.  Appurtenances  such  as  doors, 
roofing  sections,  bar-iron,  bolts,  joint-cement,  paint,  etc.,  are 
usually  boxed  or  crated. 

Painting. — Metal  silos  should  be  painted  once  a  year,  long 
enough  before  filling  to  set  well.  The  reason  for  this  is  given 
by  one  manufacturer  as  follows: 

"In  the  production  of  silage  certain  mild  acids  are  formed 
by  fermentation,  which,  if  no  protection  was  offered  would  have 
a  tendency  to  cause  the  metal  to  corrode.  To  provide  against 
this,  it  is  advisable  to  keep  the  inside  of  the  silo  painted  with 
some  elastic,  acid-resisting  paint.  Such  paints  are  put  up  by 
practically  all  of  the  best  paint  manufacturers.  Any  good  paint, 
with  an  asphaltum  or  gilsonite  base,  that  is  prepared  so  that 
it  will  not  dry  too  quickly,  can  be  depended  upon.  We  suggest 
asphaltum  or  gilsonite,  because  such  paints  are  thoroughly  satis- 
factory, and  the  cost  is  considerably  less  than  that  of  some 
other  kinds." 


ROOF  AND  FOUNDATION.  107 

The  Metal  Silo  Roof. — The  roof  adds  greatly  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  metal  silo  and  protects  it  against  undue  wind  strain 
or  vibration.  In  northern  climates  it  acts  as  a  protection  against 
snow  and  freezing,  and  in  warmer  zones  against  the  extreme 
heat  of  the  sun  which  would  cause  considerable  loss  between 
feedings.  It  is  an  added  expense,  of  course,  and  as  rain  is  not 
injurious  to  silage  the  roof  is  considered  superfluous  in  some 
sections  of  the  Southwest.  The  permanent  roof  also  prevents 
tramping  or  filling  to  the  top  of  the  silo,  causing  both  spoilage 
and  loss  of  capacity.  Despite  these  objections,  however,  the 
majority  of  purchasers  seem  to  prefer  the  roof. 

Foundation. — Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  building  the 
foundation  of  a  metal  silo.  SeHd  ground  is  the  first  essential  be- 
cause the  silo  with  its  contents  is  very  heavy.  The  foundation 
wall  and  floor  should  be  of  concrete  of  ordinary  1:2:4  propor- 
tions. The  wall  should  be  at  least  12  inches  thick  and  extend 
6  inches  below  freezing  point  or  about  3  feet  in  the  ground — deep 
enough  to  prevent  the  frost  from  heaving  the  silo  out  of  level 
and  to  prevent  rats  from  digging  under.  The  first  row  of  metal 
sheets  should  be  imbedded  in  the  center  of  the  wall  at  least  12 
inches  deep. 

Freezing    in    Metal    Silos. — In    extremely    cold    climates    silage 


« 


Fig.  49. — Large  Metal  Silo  on  Sunny  Slope  Farm,   Emporia    Kas. 
being  filled  with  Silver's  Ohio  No.  22  Cutter. 


108  SILOS  OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 

will  sometimes  freeze  in  any  kind  of  silo,  but  it  must  be  very 
severe  and  protracted  cold  weather  to  freeze  silage  very  deeply 
because  of  its  own  generated  heat.  Metal  silo  manufacturers 
contend  that  while  the  so-called  double — or  hollow — wall  silos  are 
slower  to  freeze  than  some  other  types,  they  are  also  much 
slower  to  thaw;  that  unlike  other  silos,  freezing  and  thawing  has 
no  injurious  effects  on  the  metal  silo,  or  on  its  contents;  that 
silage  freezing  to  the  sides  of  ordinary  silos  requires  to  be 
chipped  away  with  danger  of  injury  to  the  walls;  whereas  the 
sun  beating  against  the  metal  walls  for  a  few  hours  on  the  cold- 
est winter  day  melts  the  silage  loose;  and  that  metal  silos  are 
giving  satisfaction  in  northern  territories  where  the  thermometer 
hovers  around  20  degrees  below  zero  for  weeks  at  a  time. 

Detailed  directions  regarding  the  building  of  foundations 
and  the  erecting  of  metal  silos  will  be  found  in  the  catalogs 
of  metal  silo  manufacturers,  which  should  be  secured  by  anyone 
interested  in  this  type  of  silo. 

Pit  or  Underground  Silos. 

Pit  or  underground  silos  date  back  to  antiquity.  For  over  fifty 
years  they  have  been  demonstrating  their  value  in  Europe,  not 
only  in  preserving  silage  but  in  economy  of  construction.  The 
pit  method  of  storing  green  feeds  had  been  followed  for  many 
years  before  the  advent  of  the  modern  silo  or  silo  filler.  The  fact 
that  the  above-ground  silo  ever  since  its  introduction  has  made 
such  rapid  strides  in  comparison,  would  indicate  that  this  type  is 
far  more  satisfactory  in  actual  use. 

In  the  United  States  the  underground  silo  is  distinctly  a  West- 
ern type,  having  its  highest  degree  of  adaptability  in  those  sec- 
tions visited  by  sparse  rain  fall  and  where  the  water  table  is  not 
near  the  earth's  surface.  These  silos  are  therefore  numerous  in 
Texas,  New  Mexico,  Oklahoma,  Colorado  and  the  Western  parts 
of  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  Norton  County  alone  in  Kansas  has 
over  100  pit  silos.  Some  are  in  use  in  the  semi-arid  parts  of 
South  Dakota  as  well  as  in  Illinois,  Michigan  and  other  states. 
They  are  NOT  adapted  to  humid  sections  or  to  localities  subject 
to  regular  and  heavy  rain  fall. 

The  underground  silo  is  generally  considered  a  temporary  ex- 
pedient or  makeshift  and  it  seems  to  show  up  to  best  advantage 


PIT  OR  UNDERGROUND  SILOS.  109 

where  but  very  few  cattle  are  fed.  That  it  is  a  makeshift,  however, 
should  not  deter  farmers  from  building  such  silos  in  case  they  can 
not  see  their  way  clear  to  erect  a  better  silo.  Even  a  cheap  silo 
properly  built  serves  a  good  purpose  in  demonstrating  the  value 
of  the  silo  and  in  helping  its  owner  to  come  into  possession  of 
better  equipment  and  a  silo  more  to  his  liking. 

Analysis  of  comments  in  the  farm  press  for  the  past  two  years 
reveals  a  number  of  advantages  claimed  for  this  type  of  silo. 
Among  these  advantages  may  be  mentioned  the  following: 

1.  Little  cash  expenditure  is  required.  Labor  is  the  chief 
item.  Where  labor  is  exchanged  there  remains  only  the  cost  of 
cement  and  sand  for  plastering  the  walls  and  making  the  concrete 
collar  around  top.  2.  It  is  easily  constructed,  requiring  very  little 
skilled  or  outside  help.  3.  The  silage  keeps  perfectly  if  well 
packed.  The  temperature  remains  even  winter  and  summer — no 
freezing  or  thawing.  4.  It  will  resist  tornado  and  fire.  It  cannot 
blow  over  or  rot  down.  5.  Because  inexpensive,  two  small  deep 
silos  may  be  built,  keeping  one  for  summer  feeding  or  for  use 
should  crops  fail  entirely.  6.  No  expensive  forms  are  required  for 
building.  7.  No  trouble  with  ill-fitting  doors,  or  with  loose  hoops, 
or  cracks.  8.  Anyone  can  make  it  who  can  dig  a  cistern.  9.  A 
more  inexpensive  silage  cutting  equipment  may  be  used,  enabling 
each  farmer  to  own  his  own  machine  so  that  it  can  stay  on  the 
job  and  refill  as  silage  settles,  thus  securing  utmost  capacity  at 
minimum  cost.  10.  The  top  surface  is  handy,  where  it  can  be 
tramped  regularly  the  first  few  days.  11.  When  built  in  the 
right  soil  it  will  last  just  in  proportion  to  how  well  it  is  con- 
structed and  cared  for,  bearing  in  mind  the  necessity  of  guarding 
against  caving  in,  seepage,  etc. 

The  most  common  objection  to  the  pit  silo  is  the  inconvenience 
in  getting  the  silage  out  of  the  hole,  which  would  have  to  be  deep 
enough  to  secure  pressure  for  proper  packing  and  keeping  quali- 
ties, and  should  therefore  be  at  least  twice  as  deep  as  the  diameter 
of  the  silo.  Some  kind  of  hoisting  apparatus  would  be  necessary. 
This  would  be  too  laborious  and  inconvenient  unless  operated  by 
a  gasoline  engine  or  other  power  which  would,  of  course,  increase 
the  expense. 

The  claim  has  been  made  that  the  extra  cost  of  getting  the 
silage  out  of  an  underground  silo  would  be  more  than  offset  by  the 


110  SILOS   OTHER  THAN  WOOD. 

.saving  effected  in  filling,  but  this  hardly  holds  true,  as  with 
modern  machinery  it  is  little  more  expensive  to  fill  a  silo  above 
ground  than  one  below  the  surface. 

The  failure  of  the  silage  to  thoroughly  pack  by  its  own  weight 
is  one  of  the  principle  draw-backs  to  the  pit  silo.  This  is  on  ac- 
count of  the  lack  of  depth  so  much  in  evidence  in  structures  of 
this  kind. 

Another  objection  to  the  silo  is  that  poisonous  gases  are  likely 
to  accumulate  in  the  bottom  and  render  the  silo  dangerous  to  en- 
ter. Lowering  a  light  would  soon  discover  the  presence  of  such 
carbon  dioxide  gas  which  if  present  would  immediately  put  the 
light  out.  These  gases  are  heavier  than  air  and  the  air  would 
have  to  be  agitated  to  dispel  them  since  there  is  no  air  drainage 
in  an  underground  silo. 

Again,  unless  the  soil  is  dry  and  very  hard  or  has  excellent 
drainage  there  would  be  the  danger  of  water  seeping  into  the 
hole  and  thus  spoiling  the  silage.  The  likelihood  of  caving  in 
either  while  building  or  after  the  first  silage  crop  was  taken  out 
would  also  have  to  be  overcome. 

Some  of  the  essentials  in  building  underground  silos  aside 
from  firm  dry  soil  are  that  they  should  have  a  curb  or  collar  ex- 
tending from  below  frost  line  to  a  few  inches  above  ground;  that 
they  should  be  plastered  from  %  to  2  or  3  inches  thick  and  washed 
with  a  cement  coat  to  make  them  water-  and  air-tight,  the  walls 
being  sprinkled  lightly  before  plastering,  if  dry;  that  the  walls 
should  be  smooth  and  perpendicular  for  even,  solid  settling;  that 
a  cover  should  be  provided  as  a  protection  against  children,  ani- 
mals or  foreign  matter  and  to  insure  free  air  circulation. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SUMMER  SILO. 

The  summer  silo  is  fast  becoming  popular  and  even  necessary 
because  of  its  splendid  aid  in  supplementing  summer  pastures  and 
tiding  the  herd  over  the  period  of  drouth,  heat  and  flies.  Experi- 
ment stations  that  have  studied  the  subject,  strongly  advocate  its 
use  and  some  of  the  leading  agricultural  papers  have  been  speak- 
ing in  no  uncertain  voice  as  to  its  advantages. 

"The  summer  silo  is  as  certain'to  assert  its  value  as  American 
agriculture  is  certain  to  go  forward  rather  than  backward,"  says 
Breeder's  Gazette  of  Chicago.  "Pasture  as  at  present  used — or 
abused — is  a  broken  reed.  An  over-grazed  acre  is  the  costliest 
acre  that  the  farmer  supports.  Even  in  normal  seasons  grass 
rests  in  the  summer  time,  and  unless  a  fall  and  winter  pasture  is 
laid  by,  little  good  is  derived  from  grass  lands  after  the  flush  of 
spring.  The  silo  supplements  pastures,  and  carries  the  burden  of 
the  winter's  feeding." 

Among  dairymen  who  have  used  summer  silage  for  many  years, 
permanent  pastures  have  been  greatly  reduced  or  even  entirely 
dispensed  with.  A  prominent  Indiana  dairyman  recently  re- 
marked, "My  dairy  last  year  returned  me  approximately  $5,000 
and  yet  I  would  go  out  of  business  if  I  had  to  give  up  the  silo.  I 
would  have  to  reduce  the  herd  50*  per  cent,  if  the  summer  silo  was 
not  used."  That  statement  is  merely  based  on  the  fact  that  enough 
silage  to  keep  a  cow  or  steer  during  its  pasture  season  can  be 
grown  on  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  the  area  required  to  keep 
the  same  animal  on  pasture.  Beef  cattlemen  are  rapidly  finding 
out  about  this  "greater  efficiency  per  acre  of  corn  silage  as  com- 
pared with  grass,  and  the  similarity  of  the  two  feeds  in  their  effect 
on  cattle,"  and  it  leaves  little  room  for  doubt  that  "the  silo  will 
greatly  reduce  the  pasture  acreage  required  and  will  have  a 
marked  effect  on  beef  production  on  high-priced  land." 

Following  the  same  line  of  thought  Purdue  Experiment  Station 
Bulletin  No.  13  says: 

Too  much  dependence  is  usually  placed  upon  pasture  for  sum- 
mer feeding.  Pasturing  high-priced  land  is  unprofitable  in  these 
times.  Few  stop  to  consider  the  destructive  effects  of  trampling, 

111 


112  SUMMER  SILO. 

that,  while  a  cow  is  taking  one  bite  of  grass,  she  is  perhaps  soiling 
or  trampling  the  life  out  of  four  others.  If  sufficient  silage  is  put 
up  each  year  part  can  well  be  used  for  summer  feeding,  which 
will  be  found  less  laborious  than  the  daily  hauling  of  green  crops 
for  the  herd.  The  herd  must  not  be  allowed  to  shrink  in  flow 
unduly,  as  it  is  practically  impossible  to  bring  them  back  during 
the  same  lactation.  The  young  stock,  destined  for  future  pro- 
ducers, must  not  be  neglected  on  short  pasture,  for  the  labor  and 
expense  of  supplying  their  needs  as  above  indicated  for  the  herd, 
is  insignificant  compared  with  the  importance  of  their  unimpaired 
growth." 

The  Indiana  Station  states  that  "The  most  rapid  and  most  econ- 
omical gains  ever  made  by  two-year-old  cattle  fed  experimentally 
at  this  station  were  made  by  a  load  of  800-pound  cattle  fed  from 
March  17  to  July  15,  1910,  on  a  ration  of  shelled  corn,  cottonseed 
meal,  corn  silage  and  clover  hay.  During  this  period  the  cattle 
ate  an  average  daily  feed  of  14.61  pounds  of  corn,  2.24  pounds  of 
cottonseed  meal,  33.81  pounds  of  silage  and  2.38  pounds  of  clover 
hay.  They  relished  the  silage  as  well  in  summer  as  in  winter." 

There  are  many  intelligent  farmers  who  are  providing  a  suc- 
cession of  fresh  soiling  crops  and  using  them  to  great  advantage 
in  helping  out  short  pastures.  "But,"  says  Professor  Frazer  of  the 
Illinois  Station,  "there  is  necessarily  much  labor  attached  to  pre- 
pairing  the  ground,  planting,  raising,  and  harvesting  the  common 
crops  used  for  this  purpose.  There  is  usually  much  loss  in  being 
obliged  to  feed  these  crops  before  they  are  mature  and  after  they 
are  overripe.  And  for  the  farmer  who  can  make  the  larger  in- 
vestment, the  most  practical  way  of  all  to  provide  green  feed  for 
summer  drouth  is  to  fill  a  small  silo  with  corn  silage.  It  not  only 
saves  the  labor  and  inconvenience  in  the  putting  in  and  cultivation 
of  small  patches  of  different  kinds  of  crops,  but  also  in  harvesting 
from  day  to  day  in  a*busy  season  of  the  year. 

"These  soiling  crops  can  be  dispensed  with  and  all  the  feed 
raised  from  one  planting  in  one  field  in  the  shape  of  corn.  The 
whole  field  of  corn  for  the  silo  may  be  cut  at  just  the  right  stage 
of  maturity  when  the  most  nutriment  can  be  secured  in  the  best 
possible  condition  of  feeding.  It  also  avoids  the  possibility  of  the 
soiling  crops  failing  to  ripen  at  the  exact  period  when  the  drouth 
happens  to  strike  the  pasture.  For  the  silo  may  be  opened  when- 
ever the  pasture  fails,  regardless  of  the  date,  and  the  silage  will 
remain  in  the  best  condition  as  long  as  needed.  When  the  pasture 
supplies  enough  feed  again,  what  is  left  in  the  silo  may  be  covered 


SUMMER  FEEDING.  113 

over  and  thus  preserved  without  waste,  and  added  to  when  refilling 
the  silo  for  winter  use." 

Oregon  Bulletin  No.  136  says  that  "the  summer  silo  is  growing 
in  favor,  and  in  many  ways  has  advantages  over  the  soiling  sys- 
tem. As  soiling  is  now  practiced,  a  carefully  planned  rotation  is 
necessary  in  order  to  have  green  feed  always  on  hand.  The  acre- 
age of  each  crop  must  necessarily  be  small,  and  frequent  planting 
at  intervals  of  from  ten  days  to  two  weeks  must  be  made.  If  a 
large  field  were  planted  and  soiling  started  at  the  proper  time  to 
get  the  maximum  yield  of  food  constituents  and  the  greatest  palat- 
ability,  the  greater  part  of  the  crop  would  soon  be  beyond  this 
stage,  as  only  a  small  part  would  be  cut  each  day.  By  putting  the 
crop  into  the  silo  all  could  be  cut  at  the  proper  stage  of  maturity, 
and  all  at  the  same  time.  This  would  do  away  with  the  daily 
chore  of  cutting  small  amounts." 

The  dry  pastures  and  burned-up  hillsides  following  the  drouth 
of  1910  made  a  very  strong  impression  as  to  the  importance  of 
having  good  summer  feeding.  It  was  an  eloquent  though  severe 
plea  for  the  summer  silo  and  led  to  some  splendid  testimony  in  its 
favor.  The  drouth  "cut  down  the  milk  flow  in  most  of  the  herds 
nearly  50  per  cent.  Not  one  farmer  in  a  hundred  had  provided 
for  this  emergency  by  a  good  supply  of  succulent  food  that  would 
make  milk.  It  is  the  same  old  story  over  again.  It  seems  to  take 
a  tremendous  lot  of  pounding  on  the  part  of  Providence,  to  get  it 
into  farmers'  heads  that  a  summer  silo  is  a  grand  thing,"  says 
Hoard's  Dairyman.  "Our  herd  of  cows  had  50  tons  or  more  of 
nice  corn  silage  to  turn  to  when  feed  grew  short  and  they  have 
rolled  out  the  milk  nicely  right  along.  Besides,  they  will  keep  at 
it.  There  is  nothing  like  a  supply  of  silage  for  summer  use.  It  is 
close  by  and  handy  to  the  stable  for  use  when  you  want  it.  And 
furthermore  it  will  produce  more  milk  than  any  other  kind  of  soil- 
ing feed." 

This  is  the  experience  of  Wisconsin  investigators,  who  find 
that  silage  holds  milk-flow  during  drouth  even  better  than  soiling. 
It  is  rational  that  it  should. 

During  the  summers  of  1910,  1911  and  1912  the  comparative 
value  of  soiling  crops  and  silage  were  thoroughly  tested  out  at  the 
Wisconsin  Experiment  Station.  In  these  tests  corn  silage  com- 
peted with  such  soiling  crops  as  green  corn,  pea.s,  oats  and  red 


114  SUMMER  SILO. 

clover.  The  two  systems  were  practically  on  an  equal  footing  so 
far  as  influence  on  milk  production  was  concerned,  but  the  cost  of 
producing  and  feeding  soiling  crops  was  higher  than  that  for 
silage,  due  to  the  cost  of  seed  and  the  great  amount  of  labor  in- 
volved. The  silage  yielded  more  and  better  food  from  the  same 
area,  was  more  uniformly  palatable  and  there  was  less  waste  due 
to  uncontrollable  weather  conditions.  The  experiment  indicated 
that  in  case  of  scant  pastures,  dairymen  would  find  it  a  matter  of 
great  convenience,  saving  and  profit  to  feed  corn  silage  in  prefer- 
ence to  soiling  crops.  The  results  of  the  above  experiments  were 
published  in  Wisconsin  Bulletin  No.  235. 

The  summer  drouth  is  with  us  to  stay,  and  we  might  as  well 
prepare  to  meet  the  situation  most  intelligently.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  we  have  never  known  a  single  season  in  our  practical  'experi- 
ence to  go  through  from  end  to  end  without  a  drouth,  and  even 
that  in  the  best  of  what  we  might  term  our  normal  seasons.  Major 
E.  E.  Critchfield,  of  Chicago,  an  agricultural  expert,  says  that  a 
good  deal  of  effort  has  been  made  in  various  localities  to  carry  over 
this  particular  season  by  soiling,  but,  he  adds,  we  must  remember 
that  the  man  who  does  this  is  not  in  any  sense  prepared  for  soil- 
ing practice  and  it  comes  at  a  period  when  he  is  almost  inordinate- 
ly busy  with  other  things  and  is,  therefore,  likely  to  fail  of  best 
results. 

If,  however,  he  has  a  summer  silo,  or  a  good  "heel"  left  in  his 
winter  silo,  he  has  in  it  a  place  of  greatest  convenience  for  feeding 
and  it  is  most  likely  to  produce  the  best  possible  results. 

Night  pasturing  has  been  found  to  be  a  very  valuable  practice 
in  connection  with  the  summer  silo.  By  running  the  cows  into 
pasture  at  night  they  are  absolutely  undisturbed  by  flies  and  other 
insects,  and  by  keeping  them  in  a  darkened  yet  well  ventilated 
barn  during  the  day  and  feeding  them  from  the  silo,  every  advan- 
tage of  the  pasture  and  absolute  freedom  from  its  annoyances  is 
secured. 

Another  very  valuable  attribute  of  the  summer  silo  is  that  it 
permits  of  saving  crops  in  years  of  great  plenty  for  other  seasons 
of  less  plenitude.  The  desirability  of  this  practice  becomes  evident 
when  we  recall  how  our  mothers  in  years  when  fruit  was  very 
plentiful  and  cheap,  used  to  put  up  a  sufficient  quantity  to  last 
for  several  years  and  we  can  hark  back  in  our  memories  and  tes- 


BLUEGRASS  PASTURES  OF  SOUTH.  115 

tify  as  to  the  quality  of  the  fruit  and,  therefore,  the  success  of  the 
practice.  Now,  since  the  siloing  of  green  stock  food  is  nothing 
more  or  less  than  a  process  of  canning,  it  may  be  carried  over 
several  years  without  any  deterring  influences. 

The  renovation  of  the  bluegrass  pastures  of  Middle  Tennessee 
and  other  Southern  bluegrass  communities  is  another  wide  field 
of  usefulness  to  which  the  summer  silo  in  the  South  may  profitably 
be  put.  That  the  native  bluegrass  areas  of  this  section  have  been 
abused  is  plainly  evident,  says  a  bulletin  recently  issued  by  the 
N.  C.  &  St.  Louis  Railway.  "Much  of  the  pasture  lands  of  Middle 
Tennessee  which  once  lay  in  vast  stretches  of  perfect  bluegrass 
sod  has  been  brought  by  continuous  grazing  to  a  comparatively 
low  state  of  yielding  capacity.  Like  all  oth§r  plants,  and  animals, 
bluegrass  has  the  disposition  to  lose  vitality  in  the  process  of  re- 
production, and  if  grazed,  even  lightly,  during  the  period  of  propa- 
gation, serious  injury  is  the  result.  Instead  of  reproducing  itself 
through  the  agency  of  its  own  seed,  as  is  popularly  supposed,  blue- 
grass  propagates  its  kind  chiefly  at  the  root.  With  the  appear- 
ance of  the  first  warm  sun  rays  of  early  spring,  long  lateral  joint- 
ed rootlets  are  sent  out  from  the  parent  root,  from  which  spring 
little  shoots  which  appear  on  the  surface  of  the  soil  as  new  grass. 
If  grazed  during  this  process,  the  act  of  reproduction  is  arrested 
and  the  old  plant  itself  permanently  injured.  In  order  to  renew 
and  maintain  a  perfect  sod  on  the  bluegrass  lands  of  the  South, 
the  process  of  reproduction  must  be  allowed  to  operate  undis- 
turbed by  removing  all  stock  from  the  pastures  for  six  weeks  or 
two  months  early  in  the  spring.  This  period  of  rest  should  extend 
from  February  1  to  15  to  April  1.  One  ton  of  silage  per  head  of 
either  dairy  or  beef  stock  reserved  from  the  winter  supply,  or  a 
small  silo  filled  and  retained  for  that  purpose,  would  enable  the 
Southern  bluegrass  pasture  owner  to  transform  his  meager  pro- 
ducing lands  into  a  perfect  sod  with  but  little  extra  expense." 

The  substance  of  a  strong  editorial  in  Wallace's  Farmer,  while 
referring  particularly  to  the  lesson  of  the  1910  drouth,  applies 
with  equal  force  wherever  pasture  is  used  or  cattle  are  fed.  It  is 
worth  quoting  here: 

"The  question  we  are  constantly  asked  is:  'Will  silage  keep 
through  the  summer?'  We  are  glad  to  be  able  to  give  a  direct 
answer  to  this,  not  theoretically,  but  from  personal  experience. 
We  built  a  silo  on  one  of  the  Wallace  farms  and  filled  it  in  1908, 


116  SUMMER  SILO. 

and  made  the  mistake  of  building  it  too  large.  During  the  winter 
of  1908-9  the  silage  was  not  all  used.  Last  fall  we  put  in  new 
silage  on  top  of  the  old,  and  during  the  winter  used  out  of  the  new 
silage,  leaving  the  unused  remainder  in  the  bottom.  We  are  now 
feeding  that  silage,  and  the  man  in  charge,  an  experienced  dairy- 
man, tells  us  that  after  the  waste  on  top  was  removed,  this  two- 
year-old  silage  is  as  good  as  any  he  ever  used;  that  the  cattle  eat 
it  as  readily  as  anything  and  eat  more  of  it  than  they  did  during 
the  winter. 

"This  is  in  entire  harmony  with  every  farmer  we  ever  heard 
of  who  uses  summer  silage.  If  silage  will  keep  two  years  without 
any  waste  except  on  the  exposed  portion  of  the  surface,  then  it 
will  certainly  keep  one. 

"Some  people  say:  'We  may  not  have  another  summer  like 
this.'  To  this  we  reply  that  a  period  of  short  pastures  during  July 
and  August  is  the  rule  in  all  the  corn  belt  states,  and  lush  grass 
at  this  season  of  the  year  is  a  rare  exception.  Remember  that 
seasons  come  in  cycles  of  unknown  duration,  and  the  time  of  their 
coming  is  uncertain;  that  it  always  has  been  so,  and  it  is  safe  to 
assume  that  they  always  will  until  the  Creator  sees  fit  to  change 
his  method  of  watering  the  earth.  Therefore,  well-made  silage 
in  a  good  silo  is  just  as  staple  as  old  wrheat  in  the  mill.  There 
will  be  a  waste  of  several  inches  on  the  surface,  just  as  there  is 
waste  of  several  inches  on  the  surface  of  the  hay  stack  or  shock 
of  corn  fodder;  but  a  man  can  afford  that  waste,  if  he  has  the 
assurance  that  his  cows  will  not  fail  in  their  milk  or  his  cattle  lose 
flesh,  even  if  there  should  be  little  or  no  rain  for  thirty  or  sixty 
days.  When  you  put  up  a  silo  for  summer  use,  you  are  going  into 
a  perfectly  safe  proposition,  provided,  of  course,  you  build  it  right, 
and  fill  it  properly." 

This  editorial  is  in  line  with  further  evidence  which  comes 
from  the  Purdue  Station.  Prof.  Skinner  writes: 

"Many  successful  farmers  with  limited  areas  of  pasture  make 
a  practice  of  filling  a  small  silo  for  summer  use.  It  has  been  well 
established  that  silage  properly  stored  in  a  good  silo  when  the 
corn  or  other  crop  is  in  the  most  desirable  condition,  will  keep  in 
good  condition  for  several  years.  Many  foresighted  men  taking 
advantage  of  this  fact  plan  to  have  silage  on  hand  the  year  round. 
They  are  thus  prepared  for  any  unusual  conditions  such  as  drouth, 
s«ant  pasture,  excessively  long  winters,  and  it  is  altogether  prac- 
tical and  profitable.  It  is  desirable  to  have  a  silo  of  relatively 
small  diameter  for  summer  feeding  as  it  is  necessary  to  feed  con- 
siderable amount  from  off  the  top  of  the  silage  each  day  in  order 
to  keep  it  from  moulding  during  the  hot,  damp  weather. 

"There  are  three  silos  on  the  university  farm  and  it  is  our  aim 
to  avoid  having  all  these  empty  at  the  same  time.  A  limited  farm, 
greatly  overstocked,  makes  it  necessary  to  supplement  the  pas- 
tures every  year,  and  while  soiling  crops  are  grown  in  abundance 
they  cannot  be  relied  upon  because  of  the  gravelly  nature  of  the 


SUMMER  FEEDING.  117 

sub- soil   underlying  the  farm,   which   means    longer     or     shorter 
periods  of  drouth  annually. 

"It  would  be  absolutely  impossible  to  maintain  the  number  of 
animals  on  the  college  farm  that  we  are  successfully  carrying 
without  the  silage  to  supplement  our  pastures  and  soiling  crops. 
Many  Indiana  men  have  come  to  look  on  the  silo  as  quite  as  im- 
portant in  supplementing  the  pastures  as  it  is  in  furnishing  suc- 
culence during  the  winter  season." 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  less  silage  will  naturally  be  fed  in 
summer  than  in  winter  and  that  on  the  exposed  surface  molding 
is  liable  to  set  in  more  quickly.  In  order  to  keep  the  surface  in 
fairly  good  condition,  at  least  three  inches  of  silage  should  be 
taken  off  daily,  where  two  inches  suffice  in  th»  winter.  Where  the 
size  of  herd  permits,  some  farmers  plan  to  feed  off  as  much  as  five 
or  six  inches  daily  in  summer.  Feeding  at  the  rate  of  30  pounds 
per  head  daily  and  removing  silage  to  a  depth  of  two  inches  from 
the  surface  means  only  about  four  square  feet  of  surface  needed 
for  each  head  per  day.  A  silo  for  20  cows  should  therefore  not 
exceed  ten  feet  in  diameter.  It  will  be  found  advisable  in  building 
the  summer  silo  to  keep  the  diameter  as  small  as  is  practicable. 
The  higher  the  silo  the  more  firmly  the  corn  is  packed  and  the 
better  it  will  keep. 

Silage  soon  dries  out  or  spoils  in  hot  weather  when  exposed, 
but  not  so  soon  where  it  is  finely  cut  and  well  packed,  because  this 
more  nearly  excludes  the  air,  thus  reducing  the  amount  necessary 
to  be  removed  daily.  By  having  the  cutting  knives  sharp  and  set  to 
cut  y2  -inch  lengths  the  exclusion  of  air  is  so  nearly  complete  that 
very  little  more  silage  needs  to  be  removed  in  summer  than  in 
winter.  If  possible  silage  in  summer  should  be  fed  in  the  shade 
because  the  hot  sun  acts  very  quickly  and  dries  out  and  sometimes 
spoils  the  silage  before  the  cattle  eat  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  USE  OF  SILAGE  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION. 

The  day  has  passed  to  question  the  usefulness  of  the  silo  to 
the  cattle  feeder.  Further  experiments  will  simply  emphasize  its 
necessity.  Millions  of  dollars  could  be  added  to  the  profits  of  the 
land-owners  and  beef-raisers  of  this  country  by  heeding  the  teach- 
ings of  the  numerous  experiments  already  made. 

Experiments  at  several  stations  during  the  past  four  or  five 
years  have  proved  beyond  question  the  value  and  economy  of  corn 
silage  in  the  ration  for  fattening  steers.  Silage-fed  steers  have  re- 
peatedly made  the  heaviest  and  cheapest  gains,  have  attained  the 
highest  finish  during  the  feeding  period,  and  have  brought  more 
money  on  the  market.  Numerous  extensive  trials  have  shown  that 
the  very  best  and  cheapest  dry  rations  have  failed  to  equal  a  good 
silage  ration,  properly  balanced,  either  in  amount  or  cheapness  of 
gains. 

Until  recent  years  the  dairy  industry  apparently  held  the  mo- 
nopoly on  the  profitable  use  of  this  succulent  feed.  It  is  refreshing 
to  note  the  awakening  among  cattle  feeders  to  its  wonderful  ad- 
vantages in  beef  production.  The  "discovery"  of  the  use  and  value 
of  silage  for  beef  making  is,  however,  not  new  as  many  suppose. 
It  was  tested  out  by  Prof.  Thomas  Shaw  at  the  Ontario  Agricul- 
tural College  fully  25  years  ago  and  the  experience  of  many  Cana- 
dian beef  growers  has  for  20  years  backed  up  the  facts  that  good 
beef  could  be  made  from  corn  silage  alone  and  meal,  that  it  could 
be  made  more  cheaply  than  on  other  feeds,  and  that  corn  stover 
was  intended  to  be  first  a  food  and  then  a  fertilizer,  rather  than 
merely  a  fertilizer. 

The  beef  producing  area  of  the  United  States  will  be  vastly 
increased  by  the  use  of  the  silo.  Now  that  the  Kansas  Agricul- 
tural College  has  shown  that  kafir  and  sorghum  are  fully  equal  to 
corn  for  silage,  even  the  dry  land  sections  of  the  southwest  are 
put  on  a  beef-fattening  basis.  This  means  that  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  million  acres  are  added  to  the  area  that  can  profitably 
produce  finished  beef  cattle.  This  is  a  significant  fact  when  it  Is 
considered  that  the  growing  scarcity  and  the  consequent  high  | 
prices  of  beef  in  late  years  has  been  such  as  to  admit  of  foreign 

118 


SILAGE  AND  THE  BEEF  SUPPLY.  119 

competition.  "There  was  a  time,"  says  Breeder's  Gazette,  "when 
meats  were  produced  as  cheaply  in  the  United  States  as  any- 
where. That  condition  no  longer  exists.  To  produce  meats  in 
the  United  States  costs  more  money  now  than  to  produce  them  in 
South  America,  New  Zealand,  or  Australia.  Probably  meat  pro- 
duction even  in  Great  Britain  is  less  costly  than  with  us." 

The  situation  is  clearly  stated  by  H.  M.  Cottrell,  Agricultural 
Commissioner  of  the  Rock  Island  Lines,  as  follows: 

"An  adequate  supply  of  beef  for  the  United  States  can  be 
secured  only  by  the  stockmen  throughout  the  country  adopting 
silage  as  the  basis  of  their  feed  rations  both  while  growing  cattle 
and  while  fattening  them.  The  cost  of  making  beef  with  grain 
and  dry  forage  is  greater  than  the  majority  of  the  consumers  can 
pay  for  it  and  farmers  find  it  more  profitable  to  sell  grain  than  to 
feed  it.  A  careful  feeding  test  showed  that  taking  a  steer  from 
birth  to  three  years  of  age  when  he  was  marketed  fat,  it  required 
38  pounds  of  feed  for  each  pound  of  gain.  An  average  of  a  large 
number  of  feeding  tests  in  many  states  showed  that  with  dry 
feeds  10  pounds  of  grain  and  5  pounds  of  hay  were  required  for 
each  pound  of  gain  made  while  fattening  beef  animals.  Grain  is 
worth  at  least  one  cent  a  pound  and  hay  is  worth  half  a  cent.  Fig- 
ure for  yourself  the  cost  of  making  beef  with  dry  feeds. 

"Silage  saves  a  large  proportion  of  grain  needed  in  fattening 
animals.  It  saves  the  need  for  any  grain  while  cattle  are  growing. 
Silage  fed  cattle  gain  faster  than  those  on  dry  feed.  They  finish 
quicker  and  the  meat  is  better  marbled.  Cattle  fed  silage  while 
fattening  require  30  per  cent  less  grain  to  make  each  100  pounds 
of  increase  in  weight  than  do  cattle  fed  under  the  best  methods  of 
dry  feeding.  Silage  makes  50  per  cent  saving  of  grain  over  ordi- 
nary methods  of  feeding.  On  high  priced  land,  silage  is  of  special 
advantage,  as  it  nearly  doubles  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  land. 

"Forty  per  cent  of  the  feed  value  of  a  corn  plant  is  in  the  stalk 
and  60  per  cent  in  the  ear.  The  stalks  that  grow  on  nearly  ninety- 
five  million  acres  of  land  are  wasted  annually  in  this  country  and 
the  feed  value  of  the  stalks  on  nearly  eight  million  acres  are  but 
partially  utilized  each  year.  This  annual  waste  amounts  to  prac- 
tically a  billion  dollars,  the  greatest  economic  waste  in  any  one 
line  of  business  in  the  world.  Silos  could  convert  all  this  wasted 
material  into  one  of  the  best  beef  producing  feeds. 

"Under  the  ordinary  way  of  roughing  beef  cattle  through  the 
winter  a  herd  averages  200  pounds  less  in  weight  per  head  in  the 
spring  than  it  did  in  the  fall.  It  costs  considerable  even  with  these 
methods  to  carry  stock  cattle  through  the  winter  and  every  one 
loses  in  value.  Stock  cattle  fed  silage  and  a  little  dry  forage  will 
gain  100  pounds  a  head  through  the  winter  and  increase  in  value. 
There  are  about  37,000,000  beef  cattle  in  the  United  States.  More 


120  SILAGE  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION. 

than  half  of  them  are  roughed  through.  Silage-feeding  would 
make  a  difference  of  300  pounds  of  edible  beef  every  winter  on 
each  of  these." 

Men  at  the  various  stock  yards  are  now  strong  boosters  for 
the  silo  and  claim  that  it  is  a  big  factor  in  replenishing  the  cattle 
supply.  During  the  past  two  or  three  years,  the  use  of  silage  has 
become  general  throughout  almost  the  entire  Southwest.  The  re- 
sults have  been  that  the  cattle  now  go  through  the  winter  in  ex- 
cellent condition  and  develop  good  flesh  with  a  limited  supply  of 
grain,  cotton  seed  meal  and  cake.  Cattlemen  of  the  Southwest 
say  that  the  silo  has  solved  the  problem  of  winter  feed  and  put 
the  old  range  country  in  a  position  to  get  both  the  breeders'  and 
the  feeders'  profit  from  cattle.  During  the  past  few  years  silage- 
fed  cattle  have  topped  the  market  repeatedly  with  record  prices 
and  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  conceal  their  identity  at  the  mar- 
ket to  evade  discrimination.  Indeed  the  discrimination,  if  any, 
now  leans  the  other  way.  This  weighty  kind  of  "fact- evidence" 
which  affects  the  pocket-book,  has  served  as  a  strong  weapon  to 
dispel  the  prejudice  that  formerly  existed  against  silage  in  feed- 
ing circles. 

Before  proceeding  to  mention  a  number  of  important  feeding 
trials  that  have  helped  to  bring  about  this  condition,  we  wish  to 
quote  a  short  article  from  Farmers'  Bulletin  556  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  as  follows: 

"Silage  stands  first  in  rank  of  all  the  roughages  for  finishing 
cattle.  Formerly,  during  the  era  of  cheap  corn  and  other  concen- 
trates little  attention  was  given  to  the  roughage,  as  it  was  usually 
considered  merely  a  'filler'  and  of  very  little  economic  value  in 
feeding.  No  especial  care  was  taken  in  selecting  any  particular 
kind,  nor  was  the  quality  of  it  seriously  considered.  As  the  prices 
of  the  concentrated  feedstuffs  advanced,  the  feeder  looked  about 
for  methods  of  cheapening  the  cost  of  producing  beef  and  soon 
found  this  could  be  accomplished  by  using  judgment  in  selecting 
his  roughage  with  respect  to  the  grain  fed.  This  has  continued 
until  at  the  present  time  the  roughage  receives  as  much  attention 
as  the  concentrated  feed,  and  has  been  made  to  take  the  place  of  a 
large  amount  of  the  latter.  The  feeding  of  silage  came  into  gen- 
eral use  with  the  advent  of  expensive  grain  and  is  becoming  more 
popular  each  year.  With  the  present  prices  of  feedstuffs  there  is 
hardly  a  ration  used  for  feeding  cattle  which  cannot  be  cheapened 
by  the  use  of  this  succulent  feed.  By  combining  it  with  other 
feeds  the  efficiency  of  the  ration  is  increased  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  amount  of  the  daily  gains  is  invariably  greater  and  the 


EXPERIMENT   STATION  RESULTS.  121 

cost  of  producing-  a  pound  of  gain  is  lessened.  The  heaviest  daily 
gains  are  usually  made  during  the  first  stage  of  the  feeding  period, 
and  silage  can  then  be  used  to  advantage  in  large  quantities  with 
a  small  amount  of  grain,  but  as  the  feeding-  progresses  the  amount 
of  silage  should  be  lessened  and  the  grain  increased.  In  some 
places  the  price  of  hay  and  stover  is  so  high  that  the  greater  the 
proportion  of  silage  used  in  the  ration  the  more  profitable  is  the 
feeding. 

"Silage  is  a  quick  finishing  roughage  in  that  it  produces  large 
daily  gains  and  produces  a  glossy  coat  and  a  soft,  pliable  skin. 
Moreover,  it  can  be  used  to  advantage  at  times  for  carrying  cattle 
for  a  longer  time  so  as  to  pass  over  a  period  of  depression  in  the 
market,  or  to  carry  the  cattle  along  in  thrifty  condition  so  they 
can  be  finished  at  a  later  period." 

When  we  consider  the  varied  conditions  under  which  the  ex- 
periments of  the  Agricultural  Stations  and  others  have  been 
made,  it  is  surprising  to  find  the  results  so  similar  and  all  pointing 
to  the  one  conclusion. 

The  Nebraska  Station  finds  in  Bulletin  132  that  corn  silage 
made  larger  and  more  profitable  gains  with  steers  than  did  corn 
stover,  used  one-third  less  grain,  and  produced  better  finished 
steers,  which  were  worth  more  per  hundred. 

A  summary  of  results  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station — Bulletin 
124 — shows  that  net  profits  during  the  1912-13  cattle  feeding  tests, 
not  including  pork,  ranged  from  $11.22  per  head  for  steers  fed 
silage  and  hay,  to  $14.09  per  head  for  steers  fed  corn  silage  as  a 
sole  roughage.  Corn  silage  at  $3.50  a  ton  proved  much  cheaper 
as  a  sole  roughage  than  when  fed  with  hay  valued  at  $12.00  a  ton. 
This  Station  realized  a  value  of  $6.20  a  ton  for  silage  when  used 
for  steer  feeding. 

The  Missouri  Station  found  in  a  steer  feeding  experiment, 
where  corn  silage  was  compared  with  hay  that  they  could  make  a 
saving  of  $1.07  per  hundred  pounds  of  beef  by  using  silage. 

Bulletin  169  of  the  South  Carolina  Experiment  Station  gives 
results  that  are  of  much  value  to  cattle  feeders,  not  only  in  the 
South,  but  in  practically  all  parts  of  the  country.  In  this  test  com- 
paring silage,  corn  stover  and  cotton  seed  hulls,  the  corn  silage 
gave  by  far  the  best  returns,  not  only  in  feeding  profits,  but  in 
the  quality  of  the  beef  and  the  shape  in  which  it  reached  the  mar- 
ket. The  silage  fed  group  produced  gains  even  on  a  poor  market 
that  would  warrant  an  earning  on  the  silage  of  $6.86  per  ton. 


122  SILAGE  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION. 

Results  at  the  North  Carolina  Station  given  in  Bulletin  222 
show  that  "Beef  cattle  fed  on  corn  silage  as  the  roughage  portion 
of  the  feed  in  conjunction  with  cotton  seed  meal  will  not  only  use 
the  meal  more  economically  during  a  continuous  feeding  period, 
but  they  will  finish  in  better  condition  and  command  a  higher 
price  than  cattle  fed  on  dry  roughage.  In  all  of  the  lots  where 
corn  silage  was  fed  as  a  whole  or  a  part  of  the  roughage,  the  daily 
gains  were  more  uniform  throughout  the  feeding  period  than  the 
gains  made  by  the  lot  fed  cotton-seed  hulls." 

Prof.  H.  P.  Rusk  of  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station,  says  that 
"one  of  the  most  common  mistakes  in  the  use  of  silage  is  attempt- 
ing to  make  it  take  the  place  of  part  or  all  of  the  concentrates  in 
the  ration. 

"Corn  silage  is  a  roughage  and  not  a  concentrate.  Its  profit- 
able utilization  in  the  finishing  ration  depends  not  so  much  upon 
its  nutritive  value  as  on  its  cheapness,  its  palatability  and  succu- 
lent nature,  the  steer's  ability  to  consume  large  quantities  of  it, 
and  the  possibility  of  utilizing  the  entire  corn  plant,  a  large  por- 
tion of  which  would  otherwise  be  wasted. 

"Used  in  its  proper  combination  with  other  feeds,  corn  silage 
is  one  of  the  most  economical  roughages  available  in  the  corn  belt. 
However,  it  should  be  remembered  that  corn  silage,  like  corn  it- 
self, is  low  in  protein  and  must  be  fed  in  combination  with  some 
highly  nitrogenous  feed  in  order  to  offset  this  deficiency.  This 
fact  was  demonstrated  in  the  early  studies  made  on  silage  at  the 
Purdue  experiment  station  when  a  ration  of  shelled  corn,  clover 
hay  and  corn  silage  was  fed  in  comparison  with  a  similar  ration 
to  which  cotton  seed  meal  was  added  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
balance  the  nutrients.  The  lot  receiving  cotton-seed  meal  made  an 
average  daily  gain  of  2.7  pounds  during  the  150-day  feeding  period 
while  the  lot  that  did  not  receive  cottonseed  meal  made  an  average 
daily  gain  of  only  1.8  pounds.  The  cost  of  gains  was  $9.11  per  cwt., 
where  cottonseed  meal  was  fed  as  compared  to  $11.07  per  cwt.  in 
the  lot  to  which  it  was  not  fed.  A  noteworthy  fact  shown  in  the 
results  of  this  experiment  is  that  the  addition  of  2.6  pounds  of 
cottonseed  meal  to  the  daily  ration  did  not  decrease  the  steer's 
capacity  for  other  feeds.  I.i  fact,  the  steers  receiving  the  balanced 
ration  consumed  a  little  over  four  pounds  of  feed  more  per  head 
daily  than  those  not  receiving  cottonseed  meal.  This  effect  is  one 
that  is  commonly  noted  when  rations  lacking  in  protein  are  bal- 
anced with  some  highly  nitrogenous  concentrate,  or  even  when 
the  common  non-leguminous  roughages  in  such  rations  are  re- 
placed by  clover  or  alfalfa  hay. 

"Where  liberal  allowances  of  corn  silage  are  used,  a  leguminous 
roughage  such  as  clover  hay  or  alfalfa  hay  cannot  be  relied  upon 
to  furnish  sufficient  protein.  The  only  way  to  properly  balance 
such  a  ration  is  to  add  some  nitrogenous  concentrate  such  as  cot- 


INDIANA  STATION  RESULTS.  123 

tonseed  meal  or  linseed  oil  meal.  This  fact  is  demonstrated  by  the 
results  of  a  feeding  trial  conducted  at  the  Illinois  experiment  sta- 
tion during  the  winter  of  1910-1911.  In  this  experiment  each  of 
three  lots  of  two-year-old  steers  received  a  full  feed  of  broken 
ear  corn  and  corn  silage;  in  addition  one  lot  was  fed  all  the  alfalfa 
hay  it  would  clean  up,  another  lot  clover  hay,  and  third  lot  was 
fed  enough  cottonseed  meal  to  balance  the  ration.  The  lot  re- 
ceiving corn,  alfalfa  hay  and  silage  made  an  average  daily  gain 
of  2.35  pounds;  the  lot  fed  corn,  clover  hay  and  silage  made  an 
average  daily  gain  of  2.09  pounds;  while  the  lot  receiving  cotton- 
seed meal  in  the  place  of  a  leguminous  roughage  made  a  gain  of 
2.59  pounds  per  head  daily  and  returned  a  larger  profit  than  either 
of  the  other  lots. 

"Aside  from  failure  to  properly  balance  the  ration,  probably 
the  most  common  mistake  in  feeding  silage  to  fattening  cattle 
is  the  practice  of  beginning  with  a  small  amount  of  silage  and 
gradually  increasing  as  the  feeding  period  advances.  This  is  just 
the  reverse  of  the  method  that  should  be  followed." 

At  the  Indiana  Station,  the  175  day  feeding  trials  conducted 
from  Nov.  20,  1913  to  May  14,  1914,  rendered  strong  evidence  in 
favor  of  feeding  corn  silage  and  cheap  roughage.  Seven  lots  of 
10  grade  Shorthorns  each,  were  fed  various  combinations  of 
shelled  corn,  soybean  meal,  cottonseed  meal,  oat  straw,  clover  and 
alfalfa  hay — with  and  without  silage.  The  test  showed  little  dif- 
ference in  the  feeding  value  of  soybean  meal  and  cottonseed  meal, 
either  in  finish  or  profits. 

The  most  profitable  lot  of  steers  received  shelled  corn,  cotton- 
seed meal,  silage  and  oat  straw.  Including  pork,  the  profit  per 
steer  was  $12.94;  without  pork,  $4.94.  This  lot  not  only  made  the 
most  profit,  but  also  made  the  fastest  gains,  the  average  daily  gain 
per  steer  being  2.54  pounds  for  the  six  months. 

Excluding  pork,  three  lots  lost  money.  Two  of  these,  Lots  2 
and  3,  did  not  receive  silage.  The  other  lot  received  silage,  but 
the  cost  of  gains  was  greatly  increased  by  the  consumption  of 
about  $54.00  worth  of  alfalfa  hay. 

This  experiment  confirmed  previous  findings  at  both  the  In- 
diana and  Illinois  Stations  regarding  the  economy  of  silage,  and 
the  profitable  use  of  oat  straw  or  other  cheap  roughage,  when 
fed  in  connection  with  corn,  cottonseed  meal  and  silage,  instead 
of  such  costly  roughages  as  alfalfa  or  clover  hay.  The  oat  straw 
was  found  to  give  as  good  results  as  clover  hay. 

For  several  years  the  silage-fed  cattle  at  the  Indiana  Station 


124  SILAGE  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION. 

have  finished  out  better  than  those  not  receiving  silage.  This 
again  held  true  in  this  test.  The  only  difference  in  the  rations  of 
Lots  2  and  4  was  the  addition  of  silage  to  the  latter.  Lot  4  not 
only  finished  better  and  sold  for  10  cents  per  cwt.  more,  but  in- 
cluding pork,  made  $4.22  more  profit  per  head  than  the  steers  that 
had  no  silage.  Not  including  pork,  the  profit  per  head  was  $7.58 
in  favor  of  silage. 

Two  experiments  in  feeding  corn  silage  to  steers  were  con- 
ducted at  the  South  Dakota  Experiment  Station  at  Brookings  in 
1912,  running  three  and  four  months  respectively.  The  results 
showed  that  neither  corn  fodder  from  the  field,  nor  fodder  silage, 
nor  a  one-half  ration  of  silage  and  hay  proved  as  valuable  for 
wintering  steers  as  first  class  corn  silage  (fodders  cut  from  same 
field,  at  same  time  as  corn  for  silage),  as  it  required  more  pounds 
of  dry  matter  for  a  pound  of  gain  with  these  than  with  silage  lot. 

Hay  with  silage  proved  to  be  better  than  hay  or  silage  alone 
as  a  roughage.  No  bad  results  were  received  by  feeding  steers 
all  the  corn  silage  they  would  eat  without  other  grain  or  rough- 
age. At  the  end  of  the  experiment  they  were  consuming  an  aver- 
age of  70  pounds  per  head  daily. 

Further  tests  were  conducted  at  the  same  station  for  146  days 
in  1912-13  to  determine  the  relative  feeding  value  of  oil  meal,  cot- 
tonseed meal  and  dried  distilled  grains  when  fed  with  corn  silage 
as  the  sole  roughage.  The  largest  and  most  uniform  gains  were 
made  with  oil  meal  and  silage.  The  cost  of  producing  100  pounds 
of  gain  in  these  tests  was  as  follows:  With  corn  silage  and  oil 
meal,  $5.86;  with  corn  silage  and  cottonseed  meal,  $6.64;  with 
corn  silage  and  dried  distilled  grains,  $5.50;  with  corn  silage  and 
oats,  $6.68;  with  corn  silage  and  shelled  corn,  $8.22.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  distilled  grains  ration  made  a  cheaper  gain  than  the 
oil  meal  ration,  but  the  cheap  gain  is  not  always  the  best  gain 
as  the  steers  receiving  oil  meal  were  in  better  condition  than  the 
other  lot.  The  average  gains  per  head  daily  for  the  146  days  were 
2.45  for  oil  meal  and  2.17  for  distilled  grains.  Silage  was  valued 
at  $4.00  a  ton;  oil  meal  and  cottonseed  meal  at  $32.00  a  ton,  dried 
distilled  grains  at  $24.00  a  ton,  oats  and  shelled  corn  at  1  cent  a 
pound.  Prof.  Wilson,  who  conducted  the  test,  says  that  the  ex- 
periment calls  attention  "to  the  value  of  corn  silage  when  prop- 
erly supplemented  with  high  protein  feed.  I  believe  when  we  feed 
our  corn  crop  in  the  form  of  silage,  we  will  be  able  to  make  beef 
at  a  profit  under  almost  any  conditions  likely  to  present  them- 
selves. The  old  custom  of  stocking  cattle  through  the  winter  will 
soon  be  a  practice  of  the  past." 

Supt.  T.  J.  Harrison,  of  the  Experimental  Farm,  Indian  Head, 
Saskatchewan,  writes:  "Last  season  (1913)  we  conducted  feed- 
ing experiments  in  which  ensilage  was  fed  in  comparison  with 


KANSAS  STATION  RESULTS. 


125 


mixed  hay.  The  steers  fed  on  the  ensilage  made  a  gain  of  2.5 
pounds  a  day,  while  the  lot  fed  mixed  hay  gained  about  1.9.  The 
silage-fed  steers  when  sold  also  brought  about  15  cents  per  cwt. 
more  than  the  hay-fed  steers,  because  of  the  fact  that  they  were 
better  finished." 

The  Kansas  Experiment  Station  in  May,  1913,  concluded  the 
most  important  feeding  demonstrations  that  have  been  made  for 
some  years,  in  order  to  determine  the  comparative  feeding  value 
of  silage  made  from  corn,  kafir  and  cane  or  sweet  sorghum.  The 
trials  were  made  with  both  beef  and  dairy  cattle  and  showed  with 
both  that,  pound  for  pound,  the  silage  from  all  thre^  crops  had 
practically  the  same  feeding  value.  These  demonstrations  not 
only  benefit  Kansas,  but  indicate  that  feeders  may  make  kafir  and 
cane  silage  the  foundation  feeds  for  fattening  beef  cattle  through- 
out the  entire  Southwest. 

The  test  with  beef  cattle  was  made  with  Hereford  calves,  ten 
in  each  lot.  Below  is  the  record: 


Ration  — 
Original    value  

Corn 
Silage. 
Lot  1 
..$     7.80 

Kafir 
Silage. 
Lot  2 

$     780 

Sorghum 
Silage. 
Lot  3 

$     7  80 

Value  of  the  lot  

.  .   325.40 

321  65 

333  90 

Original     weight 

4  172  Ibs 

4  124  Ibs 

4  281  Ibs 

Feed  Consumed: 
Corn   silage 

27  431  Ibs 

Kafir  silage 

30  865  Ibs 

Sweet   sorghum   silage  . 

30  £55  Ibs. 

Cottonseed    meal  

927  Ibs 

927  Ibs 

927  Ibs 

Details: 
Final    weight  

.  .  .     5  700  Ibs. 

5  751  Ibs 

5  865  Ibs 

Total     gain     ...        ... 

.  .  .     1  528  Ibs. 

1  627  Ibs 

1  584  Ibs 

Average    daily    gain 

1%  Ibs 

1  62  Ibs 

1  58  Ibs 

Cost  of  feed  

..$  55.05 

$  54.96 

$  54.94 

Daily  cost  by  head.  .  .  . 
Cost   of  gain  

0.055 
3.60 

0.0549 
3.37 

0.0549 
3.46 

Value,    hundredweight.. 
Final  value  by  lot  
Profit  by  the  lot  .  . 

.  .       7.50 
.  .   427.50 
47.05 

7.60 
437.07 
60.46 

7.50 
439.87 
51.03 

It  will  be  seen  that  kafir  silage  made  28  per  cent  more  profit 
than  corn  silage,  and  sweet  sorghum  silage  made  8  per  cent  more 
than  corn  silage.  Corn  silage  has  usually  produced  better  gains 
than  either  kafir  or  sorghum  silage,  due  to  the  acidity  and  lack  of 


126  SILAGE  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION. 

feeding-  value  heretofore  connected  with  the  latter.  The  Kansas 
tests  showed  plainly  that  these  drawbacks  have  been  due  to  the 
cutting  of  the  kafir  and  sorghum  when  too  immature.  These  crops 
for  the  above  feeding-  tests  were  cut  three  weeks  later  than  corn. 
The  seeds  were  practically  mature,  but  the  stalks  were  green  and 
filled  with  sap.  Professors  Reed  and  Fitch  report  that  at  all  times 
during  the  test,  the  silage  from  cane  contained  less  acid  than  the 
silage  from  corn. 

In  the  dairy  test,  which  also  covered  two  years,  it  was  found 
that  corn  silage  as  a  milk  producer  was  only  slightly  superior  to 
kafir  silag-e  with  cane  silage  a  close  third.  Cows  gave  daily  per 
head  one-sixth  of  a  pound  more  milk  on  corn  silage  than  on 
kafir  silage  and  gained  slightly  more  in  weight  on  the  kafir  silage. 
Corn  silage  produced  an  average  daily  yield  of  one-half  pound  per 
cow  more  than  cane  silage.  These  differences  are  so  small  that 
they  show  the  feeds  to  be  practically  equal.  The  choice  of  crop  to 
plant  depends  upon  the  probable  yield  per  acre.  Kafir  and  cane 
being  drouth-resistant  crops  can  be  grown  over  a  -wider  territory 
than  corn  and  they  produce  from  one-third  to  one-half  more  ton- 
nage to  the  acre,  so  that  each  acre  of  kafir  or  cane  would  yield 
considerably  more  milk  than  an  acre  of  corn  silage.  The  cane 
silage  was  found  superior  to  either  kafir  or  corn  silage  for  gain 
in  live  weight,  due  to  more  carbo-hydrates  and  sugar,  or  fattening 
nutrients.  All  the  silage  was  of  g-ood  quality  and  the  cows  ate  it 
with  relish.  The  cane  silage  seemed  most  palatable.  Cement  and 
stave  silos  were  used  with  no  difference  in  results  as  to  quality. 

Prof.  O.  E.  Reed,  who  made  the  dairy  tests,  says  that  "the 
time  of  cutting  cane  and  kafir  for  silage  is  all-important  in 
making  good  silag-e  from  these  crops.  The  crops  should  be  prac- 
tically mature;  that  is  the  seed  should  be  mature.  At  this  time 
the  stalk  is  still  filled  with  sap  and  will  make  good  silage.  If 
put  up  too  green,  it  will  make  sour  silage.  The  crops  should  be 
put  up  before  frost  if  possible,  but  it  is  better  to  let  the  crop  stand 
until  after  frost  than  to  put  it  up  too  green.  After  a  heavy  frost, 
the  crop  should  be  cut  and  siloed  immediately.  If  it  dries  out  too 
much,  sufficient  water  should  be  added  to  cause  it  to  pack  well." 

The  Iowa  Experiment  Station  in  Circular  No.  6  gives  the  fol- 
lowing results  of  feeding  corn  silage  for  fattening  cattle.  The 
experiments  were  in  charge  of  Prof.  Evvard. 

"Corn  silage  should  be  put  into  the  feeding  program  of  every 
Iowa  beef  producer  if  he  wants  to  fatten  cattle  economically  and 
efficiently.  That  corn  silage  is  our  most  profitable  cattle  roughage 


IOWA  STATION  RESULTS.  127 

has  been  clearly  demonstrated  at  the  Experiment  Station  as  well 
as  upon  hundreds  of  Iowa  farms. 

The  addition  of  corn  silage  to  the  ration  not  only  decreases  very 
materially  the  cost  of  gains,  but  usually  makes  them  more  rapidly. 
The  steers  are  finished  more  quickly  and  ordinarily  sell  for  a 
higher  price  than  where  clover  is  used  as  the  roughage. 

Fattening  cattle  of  all  ages  utilize  silage  as  their  roughage 
ration.  It  is  as  good  for  the  calf  and  yearling  as  for  the  two  and 
three  year  old.  All  profit  from  its  use. 

Silage  is  practically  one-third  to  two-fifths  as  valuable  as 
clover  hay  for  beef  production.  Silage  at  $3.20  a  ton  and  clover 
hay  at  $7.66  a  ton  were  equally  efficient  in  fattening  two-year-old 
steers  in  1911-12  in  our  station  tests.  Ordinarily  when  clover  is 
selling  from  $10  to  $15  per  ton,  silage  is  worth  from  $3.50  to  $6.00. 

That  the  corn  grain  which  is  put  into  the  silo  is  not  wasted 
our  feeding  records  clearly  show.  Cattle  receiving  silage  do  not 
eat  as  much  grain  as  hay  fed  cattle,  the  decrease  being  approxi- 
mately equal  to  the  amount  of  corn  found  in  the  silage. 

For  a  short  feed,  silage  is  pre-eminently  our  most  abundant 
and  efficient  roughage.  The  gains  are  not  only  more  rapid  than 
where  clover  or  alfalfa  is  fed,  but  are  made  more  cheaply.  Fur- 
thermore, the  selling  price  is  markedly  enhanced.  Actual  experi- 
ment has  shown  that  as  compared  to  clover  in  a  ninety-day  feed, 
silage  cattle,  rightly  fed,  will  sell  from  ten  to  seventy-five  cents 
higher  per  hundred  weight. 

For  a  long  feed  silage  is  quite  efficient,  producing,  as  compared 
to  clover,  both  cheaper  gains  and  a  higher  quality  of  finish. 

Protein  supplements  must  be  fed  with  silage  in  order  to  make 
it  an  efficient  fattening  food.  Cattle  cannot  be  fattened  econom- 
ically on  corn  and  corn  silage.  It  is  imperative  and  absolutely 
essential  that  protein  concentrates  such  as  cottonseed  meal,  cold 
pressed  cottonseed  cake,  linseed  oil  meal  or  similar  feeds  be  fed. 

The  average  daily  silage,  hay  and  grain  consumption  of  a  two- 
year-old  steer  weighing  1,000  pounds  at  the  start,  during  a  five- 
month  full  feeding  period  will  approximate: 

Shelled  corn,  13  to  16  pounds; 

Cottonseed  meal  or  linseed  meal,  2.7  to  3.6  pounds; 

Clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  3  to  5  pounds; 

Corn  silage,  22  to  35  pounds. 

With  silage  as  lone  roughage  the  consumption  will  be  about  28 
to  35  pounds.  It  requires  practically  one  and  three-quarters  to 
two  and  three  quarters  tons  of  corn  silage  for  a  five  months'  feed 
for  a  two  year  old. 

In  the  absence  of  any  dry  roughage  such  as  clover,  alfalfa  or 
oat  straw,  corn  silage  may  be  used  as  the  lone  roughage.  Some 
dry  corn  stover  should  be  utilized  if  possible.  In  case  of  lone 
silage  feeding,  however,  one  had  best  increase  the  protein  concen- 
trates slightly. 


12  3  SILAGE  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION. 

In  what  quantities  throughout  the  feeding  period  shall  we  feed 
silage?  Our  experience  clearly  shows  that  silage  should  be  fed 
very  heavily  in  the  early  part  of  the  feeding  period  to  insure  most 
efficient  results.  The  grain  at  this  time  may  be  somewhat  lim- 
ited. We  put  our  steers  upon  a  full  feed  of  good  quality  silage 
the  very  first  day  and  have  never  had  any  difficulty.  Silage  is 
a  roughage  and  may  be  so  handled  without  danger.  To  insure 
quick  and  economical  finishing,  the  silage  is  best  decreased  some- 
what at  the  close  of  the  feeding  period  and  the  grain  increased 
accordingly.  Cattle,  when  nearly  finished,  tend  to  eat  too  much 
of  the  bulky,  watery,  palatable  silage,  thus  leaving  too  little  room 
for  concentrated  grains,  a  consumption  of  which  is  highly  im- 
perative at  this  time. 

The  shrinkage  of  silage  fed  cattle  is  not  heavy  as  is  ordinarily 
supposed.  Silage  fed  cattle  do  not  shrink  any  more  than  dry  hay 
fed  ones.  Our  results  clearly  indicate  that  cattle  receiving  both 
silage  and  dry  roughage  during  the  feeding  period,  shrink  less 
than  those  fed  on  either  dry  feed  or  silage  alone." 

The  Texas  Station  has  conducted  two  experiments  recently  in 
which  the  value  of  cotton  seed  meal  and  silage  was  tested  for 
fattening  cattle.  The  results  of  these  experiments,  and  those  ob- 
tained by  other  Stations  and  commercial  feeders  along  the  same 
lines,  indicate  this  combination  to  be  one  of  the  most  profitable 
rations  that  can  be  used  for  feeding  cattle  in  Texas. 

The  first  experiment  covered  a  period  of  119  days  during  the 
winter  of  1911-12.  40  head  of  range-bred  three-  and  four-year 
old,  grade  Shorthorn  and  Hereford  steers  were  used.  The  silage 
fed  was  about  75  per  cent.  Milo  Maize,  15  per  cent.  Indian  corn, 
and  10  per  cent,  sorghum.  During  the  last  20  days  of  the  test 
the  percentage  of  Indian  corn  was  increased.  The  test  showed 
that  a  ration  of  cotton  seed  meal  and  silage  may  be  used  far  more 
profitably  than  a  ration  of  cotton  seed  meal  and  cotton  seed  hulls 
for  fattening  cattle.  Silage  was  a  much  cheaper  feed  than  cotton 
seed  hulls  and  yielded  slightly  larger  gains.  The  silage  fed  steers 
showed  considerably  better  finish  and  brought  20c  a  hundred- 
weight more  on  the  market  than  the  hulls-fed  steers.  The  net 
profit  on  the  silage-fed  steers  was  $10.40  a  head  and  the  net 
profit  on  the  hulls-fed  steers  was  67c  a  head. 

The  second  experiment,  during  the  winter  of  1912-13  lasted 
139  days.  28  head  of  well  graded  steers  were  used,  divided  into 
four  lots.  A  summary  of  results  showed  that  the  ration  of  cotton 
seed  meal  and  silage  was  considerably  more  profitable  than  either 
the  ration  of  cotton  seed  meal  and  hulls  or  the  one  of  cotton  seed 
meal,  hulls  and  silage.  It  was  found  that  1  2-3  tons  of  silage  was 
equivalent  to  one  ton  of  cotton  seed  hulls  in  feeding  value.  Silage 
realized  a  value  of  $8.16  a  ton.  Cotton  seed  meal  at  $27.00  per 
ton  was  more  profitable  than  cotton  seed  at  $17.00  a  ton  in  supple- 
menting the  silage  to  form  a  fattening  ration.  The  shrinkage  in 
shipment  to  market  was  much  greater  in  the  hulls-fed  lots  than 
in  the  lots  fed  silage  as  roughage.  During  the  first  107  days  of 


RESULTS  IN  THE  SOUTH.  129 

the  test  the  silage  was  about  90  per  cent,  sorghum  and  10  per 
cent,  cow-peas.  During  the  remaining  32  days,  it  was  composed 
of  Indian  corn.  This  test  was  based  on  the  following  values  per 
ton:  Cotton  seed  meal,  $27.00;  cotton  seed  hulls,  $7.00;  cotton 
seed,  $17.00;  silage,  $2.50. 

At  the  Amarillo  Sub -Station  in  Texas  a  test  was  made  to  com- 
pare cotton  seed  meal  and  grass  with  cotton  seed  meal  and  silage. 
The  silage  steers  made  400%  better  gains. 

Mr.  Henry  H.  Johnson  uses  15  silos  of  200  to  250  tons  each  for 
fattening  annually  about  4,000  steers  on  his  25,000  acre  ranch  in 
Oklahoma.  Mr.  Johnson  says,  "No  farmer,  large  or  small,  can 
afford  to  be  without  a  silo.  It  is  the  only  way  to  feed  cattle  at 
a  minimum  cost.  Any  other  way  will  cost  a  man  from  eight  to 
ten  dollars  a  head  more.  Silage  increases  the  flow  of  milk  at  least 
half  and  young  cattle  will  make  faster  growth  on  silage"  than  on 
any  other  kind  of  feed." 

A  battery  of  four  monolithic  silos — the  largest  in  the  West — 
was  built  in  1912,  on  the  14,000  acre  beef  ranch  of  Horace  Adams, 
Maple  Hill,  Kan.  Each  was  20x60  feet.  They  hold  500  tons  each 
and  cost  $3,300,  and  are  to  store  feed  for  producing  fine  beef 
cattle. 

The  South  abounds  in  just  the  protein  feeds  that  are  needed 
to  properly  supplement  silage.  Cowpeas,  soybeans,  peas,  vetch, 
red  clover,  lespedeza,  oil  meal,  cotton  seed  meal,  gluten  feed, 
clover,  alfalfa,  wheat,  bran  or  oats  are  all  good.  The  South  has 
splendid  natural  conditions  for  stock  raising.  Regarding  the 
value  of  silage,  Prof.  Andrew  M.  Soule  of  the  Georgia  Agricul- 
tural College  says: 

"For  more  than  fifteen  years  I  have  either  conducted  person- 
ally or  supervised  experiments  on  the  wintering  of  beef  cattle 
with  silage  as  the  principal  form  of  roughness.  In  that  time  it 
has  proved  to  be  cheapest  and  most  efficient  coarse  feed  avail- 
able for  use  in  the  south.  Cattle  fed  on  silage  for  a  period  of 
134  days  made  an  average  gain  in  the  stable  of  1.06  pounds,  those 
fed  hay, and  grain  a  gain  of  .27  pounds,  those  fed  stover  and  grain 
.08  pounds,  those  fed  silage  and  grain  made  a  gain  of  1.22  pounds. 
These  cattle  were  allowed  to  run  on  grass  for  81  days.  The  aver- 
age daily  gain  for  the  silage  and  grain  cattle  for  both  the  stable 
and  the  grass  period  was  1.36  pounds,  the  stover  and  grain  cattle 
1.19  pounds,  the  hay  and  grain  cattle  1.13  pounds.  The  most 
economic  gains  from  stable  feeding  were  made  by  the  silage  and 
grain  fed  cattle. 

Under  good  management  a  grain  ration  as  low  as  2  pounds  per 
day  will  make  substantial  gains  in  the  winter  and  maintain  good 
gains  on  grass.  Three  pounds  of  grain  combined  in  the  propor- 
tion of  two  pounds  of  corn  and  one  of  cottonseed  meal  will  make 
an  excellent  grain  ration." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE     SILAGE    SYSTEM    HELPS    MAINTAIN    SOIL 
FERTILITY. 

When  the  cattle  feeders  of  this  country  once  thoroughly  realize 
that  they  can  profitably  feed  and  raise  stock  by  means  of  the 
silage  system  the  great  problem  of  maintaining  and  increasing 
soil  fertility  will  very  largely  solve  itself  and  exhausted  soils  will 
recuperate  of  their  own  accord. 

This  statement  is  based  on  certain  fundamental  facts,  which 
Farmer's  Bulletin  No.  180  covers  briefly  as  follows: 

"When  subjected  to  proper  chemical  tests  or  processes  every 
substance  found  on  our  globe  no  matter  whether  it  belongs  to  the 
mineral,  vegetable  or  animal  kingdom  may  be  reduced  to  single 
elements,  of  which  we  now  know  over  seventy.  Many  of  these 
elements  occur  but  rarely,  and  others  are  present  everywhere  in 
abundance.  United  mostly  in  comparatively  simple  combinations 
of  less  than  half  a  dozen  each,  these  elements  make  up  rocks, 
soils,  crops,  animals,  the  atmosphere,  water,  etc.  The  crops  in 
their  growth  take  some  of  the  elements  from  the  soil  in  which 
they  grow  and  others  from  the  air.  Many  elements  are  of  no 
value  to  crops;  a  few,  viz.,  13  or  14,  are,  on  the  other  hand,  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  growth  of  plants;  if  one  or  more  of  these 
essential  elements  are  lacking  or  present  in  insufficient  quantities 
in  the  soil,  the  plant  cannot  make  a  normal  growth,  no  matter  in 
what  quantities  the  others  may  occur,  and  the  yields  obtained 
will  be  decreased  as  a  result." 

The  problem  of  the  conservation  of  soil  fertility  is  therefore 
largely  one  of  maintaining  a  readily  available  supply  of  the  essen- 
tial plant  elements  in  the  soil.  Most  of  these  elements  occur  in 
abundance  in  all  soils,  and  there  are  really  only  about  three  of 
them  that  the  farmer  need  seriously  consider — nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid  and  potash.  Of  these,  the  latter  two  are  mineral  com- 
pounds which  are  very  often  lacking  in  the  soil  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  give  profitable  crops  and  they  must  therefore  be  sup- 
plied in  the  form  of  manures  or  fertilizers.  The  nitrogen  is  partly 
obtained  from  the  air  by  leguminous  crops,  but  the  supply  from 
this  source  is  limited  and  the  proper  enrichment  of  the  soil  often 
demands  the  addition  of  this  compound. 

130 


VALUABLE  FERTILIZING  ELEMENTS.  131 

Every  time  that  a  crop  is  grown  it  robs  the  soil  of  a  valuable 
portion  of  these  fertilizing  elements.  A  ton  of  clover  hay,  for  in- 
stance, contains  41.4  pounds  of  nitrogen,  7.6  pounds  of  phosphorus 
and  44  pounds  of  potash.  These  elements  form  the  basis  of  the 
market  value  of  commercial  fertilizers  and  because  of  the  enor- 
mous quantity  of  fertilizer  now  used  they  each  have  a  definite  and 
fairly  stable  market  value.  For  our  purposes  in  this  discussion 
we  place  these  values  as  follows:  18  cents  a  pound  for  nitrogen, 
5  cents  a  pound  for  phosphoric  acid  and  5  cents  a  pound  for 
potash.  It  should  be  remembered  that  these  values  are  likely  to 
differ  to  some  extent  in  various  localities  according  as  "they  are 
affected  by  the  item  of  transportation.  At  the  present  time,  be- 
cause of  the  European  War,  it  is  hard  to  estimate  the  value  that 
should  be  placed  on  these  elements,  as  the  sources  of  most  of  our 
nitrogen  and  potash  are  very  largely  controlled  by  the  warring 
nations,  and  for  this  reason  our  values  will  be  found  very  con- 
servative and  even  very  low.  But  taking  one  year  with  another 
and  reaching  over  a  period  of  years  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  the 
prices  of  18,  5  and  5  cents  a  pound  respectively  will  be  found  ap- 
proximately correct.  Now,  figured  on  this  basis,  it  will  be  found 
that  each  ton  of  clover  hay  takes  from  the  soil  $10.23  worth  of 
fertility.  A  100 -bushel  corn  crop  contains  148  pounds  pf  nitrogen, 
23  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  71  pounds  of  potash  valued  at 
$51.34.  In  other  words,  that  much  fertility  is  removed  from  the 
soil  with  every  100-bushel  corn  crop.  In  the  same  manner,  the 
fertility  in  a  ton  of  wheat  has  a  value  of  $9.79;  a  ton  of  wheat 
bran,  $14.06;  a  ton  of  alfalfa  hay,  $10.07;  a  ton  of  timothy  $5.97 
and  a  ton  of  oats,  $8.85.  Other  crops  vary  in  proportion. 

The  above  figures  may  be  startling  to  some  who  have  been 
growing  and  selling  these  crops.  The  question  may  come  up,  do 
these  figures  actually  mean  that  we  can  get  returns  of  $14.06  by 
the  application  of  one  ton  of  wheat  bran  to  our  land  as  a  fertilizer? 
Such  is  not  their  meaning,  however.  They  do  mean  that  if  a 
farmer  seeks  to  restore  to  the  soil  the  same  amount  of  fertility 
as  was  extracted  by  his  100-bushel  corn  crop,  such  fertilizer 
would  cost  him  on  the  market  not  less  than  the  amount  stated 
above,  viz.:  $31.34.  The  same  relative  values  obtain  with  the 
other  crops  mentioned. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  unless  these  elements  are  put  back 
into  the  soil  in  some  way,  it  will  produce  steadily  declining  crops 


132 


SILAGE  SYSTEM  MAINTAINS  FERTILITY. 


and  eventually  will  become  exhausted  or  mined  out.  How  to  put 
them  back  at  the  least  expense  is  the  problem  confronting  many 
sections  of  this  country  today,  and  it  is  not  alone  for  the  benefit 
of  future  generations;  it  has  a  vital  bearing  on  our  own  crop 
yields. 

:  The  soil  is  the  farmer's  bank  and  the  fertility  of  that  soil  is 
his  capital.     Many  a  farmer   finding  it  impossible  to  "break  na- 


.  DAIRY  AND  MIXED  FARMIN3    (160  ACRES) 
PRODUCED  ON  FARM          .RETURNED  TO  LAND 


GRAIN  AND  HAY  FARMING  (160  ACRE&; 
PRODUCED  ON  FARM  RETURNED    TO  LAND 


Nothing 

Manure 

Manure 

Wheat 

Milk  an<j  Cheese 

Oats 

Stock 

Clover 
Alfalfa 

Barley 

Crops  Sold 

Hay 

PLANT   FOOD  -  h-MlTROGEM  -  RA  -  PHOSPHORIC  ACID-  Pr  POTASH 


PRODUCCP 


RETURnCD 


PA 

2,5-00 


f.OOO 

Ik 


NOTHING- 


TOTAL-l6.500lt>s.  TOTAL- 13.  JOOlbs 


Fig.  50. — Comparison  of  years'  results  of  grain  and  hay  farming 
vs:  stock,  dairy  and  mixed  farming. — Courtesy  Family  Herald 
and  Weekly  Star,  Montreal. 


ture's  bank"  has  practiced  farming  methods  that  have  meant 
a  continual  draining,  year  after  year,  of  his  capital — fertility — 
failing  the  while  to  understand  the  constantly  smaller  yields  of 
the  particular  crops  grown.  This  is  the  usual  result  of  exclu- 
sive grain  and  hay  farming  and  is  graphically  shown  in  the  ac- 
companying chart,  Fig.  50.  The  chart  also  illustrates  the  results 
of  stock,  dairy  and  mixed  farming,  where  most  of  the  crops  are 
grown  for  stock  and  manufactured  into  finished  pr'/'Jucts  such  as 
milk,  cheese  and  beef,  and  where  the  fertility  is  returned  to  the 


EFFECT  OF  CONTINUOUS  CROPPING.  133 

land  by  means  of  manure  and  the  legumes.  It  will  be  observed 
that  where  this  latter  system  is  practiced  tfie  nitrogen  in  the 
soil  is  actually  increased,  whereas  the  phosphoric  acid  and  potash 
are  reduced  to  a  very  small  extent. 

The  startling  effect  of  continuous  crop  farming  is  shown  by 
an  experiment  covering  30  years  at  the  Illinois  Experiment  Sta- 
tion: 

"At  this  station  the  yield  on  a  typical  prairie  soil  has  de- 
creased under  continuous  corn  raising  from  70  bushels^  to  the 
acre  to  27  bushels  to  the  acre  during  this  period,  while  under  a 
system  of  crop  rotation  and  proper  fertilization  the  yield  on  a 
portion  of  the  same  field  has  been  increased  during  the  same 
period  to  96  bushels  per  acre.  These  yields  are  not  of  a  certain 
year,  but  averages  of  three-year  periods.  The  96  bushels  was 
obtained  in  a  three-year  rotation  in  which  corn  was  followed  by 
oats  in  which  clover  was  sown.  The  next  year  clover  alone, 
followed  by  corn  again.  Stable  manure  with  commercial  fertil- 
izers was  applied  to  the  clover  ground  to  be  plowed  under  for 
corn.  The  difference  in  the  yields  obtained  between  the  rotation 
system  where  fertility  was  applied  and  the  straight  corn  cropping 
without  fertility  was  69  bushels  per  acre,  or  over  two-and-a-half 
times  that  of  the  system  of  continuous  corn  raising.  A  large 
proportion  of  this  difference  in  yield  is  clear  profit,  as  the  actual 
expense  of  producing  the  96  bushels  to  the  acre  was  but  little 
more  than  in  growing  the  27.  If  the  results  of  these  two  yields 
were  figured  down  to  a  nicety,  and  the  value  of  the  land  de- 
termined by  the  net  income,  it  would  be  found  that  the  well 
farmed  acres  would  be  worth  an  enormous  price  as  compared 
with  a  gift  of  the  land  that  produced  the  smaller  yield." 

Henry  says  that  "with  sharp  competition  confronting  every 
one  who  cultivates  the  soil,  the  careful  saving  of  farm  manures 
and  their  judicious  application  are  vital  factors  in  farming  oper- 
ations, and  as  essential  to  continued  success  as  plowing  the  land 
or  planting  the  cr.op.  *  *  *  When  one  must  choose  between  com- 
mercial fertilizers  and  barn-yard  manures,  it  is  reasonable  to 
estimate  that  the  latter  have  a  value  of  at  least  two-thirds  the 
former,  based  on  their  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  con- 
tents." These  manures  benefit  the  soil  because  the  vegetable 
matter  they  contain  acts  as  a  mulch  and  forms  humus,  but  so  far 


134  SILAGE  SYSTEM  MAINTAINS  FERTILITY. 

as  feeding  the   plants   is   concerned    their  worth   rests   upon   the 
elements  of  fertility  they  contain. 

It  will,  therefore,  be  seen  that  barn-yard  manure  has  a  high 
value  as  a  fertilizer.  It  is  perhaps  the  most  important  for  soil 
improvement.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  it  supplies  nitrogen, 
phosphorus  and  potash  and  the  decaying  organic  matter  needed. 
In  feeding  oats,  corn,  wheat  or  other  crops  to  animals,  it  is  well 
to  know  that  about  three-quarters  of  the  phosphorus  and  nitrogen 
and  practically  all  of  the  potash  go  through  the  body  and  are  re- 
turned in  the  solid  and  liquid  manure.  It  is  evident  that  the  value 
of  richness  of  the  manure  depends  largely  on  the  crops  or  part 
of  the  crops  fed  to  the  animals.  That  which  originates  from  the 
use  of  concentrated  feeding  stuffs  usually  has  a  high  value.  That 
which  comes  from  the  use  of  straw  or  other  coarse  forage  has  a 
lower  value.  Leguminous  crops  are  rich  in  nitrogen  and  phos- 
phorus. Three  tons  of  white  clover  will  contain  8  pounds  more 
phosphoric  acid  and  17  pounds  more  nitrogen  than  a  100  bushel 
corn  crop,  i.  e.,  31  pounds  phosphoric  acid  and  165  pounds  nitro- 
gen. Any  system  of  farming  where  grain  is  sold  and  only  stalks 
and  straw  retained  for  feed  produces  manure  weak  in  both  nitro- 
gen and  phosphorus.  These  elements  are  divided  in  the  corn 
plant  on  the  100-bushel  basis,  about  as  follows: 

100  Ibs.  nitrogen  in  grain  and  48  Ibs.  in  the  stalk. 
17  Ibs.  phosphorus  in  grain  and  6  Ibs.  in  the  stalk. 
19  Ibs.  potassium  in  grain  and  52  Ibs.  in  the  stalk. 

In  other  words,  two-thirds  of  the  nitrogen,  three-fourths  of  the 
phosphorus  and  one-fourth  of  the  potassium  are  in  the  grain  or 
seed  and  one-third  of  the  nitrogen,  one-fourth  of  the  phosphorus 
and  three-fourths  of  the  potassium  are  in  the  stalk  or  straw.  In 
siloing  the  corn  plant  the  full  value  of  the  fertilizer,  in  both  stalk 
and  grain,  is  obtained  in  the  manure. 

The  value  of  manure  depends  very  largely  on  the  way  in  which 
it  is  handled.  Over  half  the  value  is  in  the  liquid  portion. 

Experiments  were  conducted  at  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station 
with  two  lots  of  steers  for  six  months  to  ascertain  the  loss 
through  seepage.  An  earth  floor  was  used  for  one  lot  and  a 
cement  floor  for  the  other  lot.  Manure  was  weighed  and  analyzed 
at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  experiments  and  it  was  found  that 
that  produced  on  the  earth  floor  had  lost  enough  fertilizer  through 


NITROGEN  A  VALUABLE  ELEMENT.  135 

seepage   during   the   experiments   to    have   paid   half   the   cost   of 
cementing  the  floor. 

Losses  through  weathering  and  leaching  are  also  common  and 
should  be  avoided.  Experiments  at  the  same  station,  during  12 
years  show  that  fresh  manure  produced  increase  in  crop  yields 
over  yard  manure  amounting  to  about  one-fourth  of  the  total 
value  of  the  manure. 

Roberts,  compiling  data  from  various  sources,  gives  the  value 
of  manure  produced  under  average  conditions  by  a  horse  as 
$24.06  a  year  and  that  of  a  cow  as  $32.25  a  year,  or  $2.49^  and 
$2.43  a  ton  respectively.  This  value  is  surely  high  enough  to 
justify  reasonable  protection  and  care. 

Nitrogen  is  manure's  most  valuable  element  measured  by  the 
cost  of  replacing  it  in  commercial  fertilizer.  It  heats  when  lying 
in  heaps  and  the  strong  ammonia  odor,  due  to  the  combination  of 
the  nitrogen  in  the  manure  and  the  hydrogen  of  the  moisture  of 
the  heap,  indicates  that  in  time  all  the  nitrogen  will  escape  in  the 
form  of  ammonia  gas.  It  is  said  that  a  ton  of  manure  contains 
about  10  pounds  of  nitrogen,  worth  $1.50  or  $2.00,  so  that  this 
loss  of  nitrogen  is  a  serious  one. 

An  average  dairy  cow  of  1,000  pounds  weight,  properly  fed, 
will  throw  off  $13.00  worth  of  nitrogen  and  potash  a  year  in  her 
urine.  A  horse  will  throw  off  $18.00  worth.  Urine  has  a  greater 
fertilizing  value  than  manure,  and  together  they  become  ideal. 

Every  farmer  can  have  his  own*  manure  factory  by  keeping 
live  stock.  Naturally,  the  more  live  stock  the  farm  can  keep,  the 
more  manure  he  will  have  for  returning  to  the  soil. 

The  silo  here  comes  in  as  a  material  aid,  and  with  its  adop- 
tion it  is  possible  to  keep  at  least  twice  as  much  live  stock  on  a 
given  area  of  land.  Pasturing  cattle  is  becoming  too  expensive 
a  method.  High  priced  lands  can  be  used  to  better  advantage 
by  growing  the  feeding  crop  and  siloing  it,  without  any  waste,  to 
be  preserved  and  fed  fresh  and  green  the  year  around.  This 
method,  as  we  have  said,  will  insure  the  maximum  supply  of 
splendid  fertilizing  material. 

But  the  silo  does  more — it  converts  the  farm  into  a  factory 
as  it  were — i.  e.,  it  will  become  a  creator  of  a  finished  or  more 
nearly  finished  product  instead  of  being  the  producer  of  a  mere 


136  SILAGE  SYSTEM  MAINTAINS  FERTILITY. 

raw  material.  The  effect  will  be  to  raise  proportionately  the  price 
of  every  commodity  offered  for  sale. 

"On  the  ordinary  farm  which  markets  cereal-  crops  only  a 
part  is  ever  sufficiently  fertile  to  return  a  profit.  The  other 
acres  must  be  put  by  to  regain  fertility  and  are  so  much  dead 
capital  while  they  are  made  ready  for  a  further  effort.  Not  so 
with  a  farm  devoted  to  beef  as  the  market  crop.  Every  acre  of 
it  may  be  seen  producing  year  after  year  in  an  increasing  ratio, 
and  occasional  crops  such  as  potatoes — which  while  they  need  a 
rich  soil  for  their  development  yet  draw  but  lightly  on  fertility 
and  are  very  useful  as  cleaning  crops — will  yield  bumper  profits 
in  cash." 

This  statement  applies  with  full  force  to  what  is  another  very 
desirable  attribute  of  the  silo  and  the  silage  system — that  it  will 
so  increase  the  live  stock  of  the  farm  that  many  of  the  products 
heretofore  sold  in  a  raw  state,  and  which  contain,  and  therefore 
carry  away  most  of  the  fertility  of  the  farm,  may  now  be  fed  at 
home. 

A  few  examples  will  best  serve  to  illustrate  this  statement: 

The  fertilizing  constituents  in  a  ton  of  clover  hay,  as  above 
stated,  amount  nominally  to  $10.23.  This  would  mean  then  that 
every  time  the  farmer  sells  a  ton  of  clover  hay,  he  sells  $10.23 
worth  of  fertility.  So  much  fertility  has  gone  from  the  farm  for- 
ever. It  would  most  certainly  be  wise  to  feed  the  clover  at  home 
as  a  balance  to  the  silage  ration,  thereby  keeping  the  fertility  on 
the  farm,  and  making  at  the  Same  time  some  finished  product,  as 
cream,  milk,  butter,  cheese  or  beef,  the  sale  of  which  will  not 
carry  away  from  the  farm  any  great  amount  of  fertility. 

The  sale  of  a  ton  of  butter,  which  is  perhaps  the  best  example 
of  a  finished  or  manufactured  product  from  the  farm,  contains 
but  27  cents'  worth  of  fertility.  Why  then  is  it  not  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  feed  the  clover  hay,  which  contains  as  above  noted, 
$10.23  in  fertility;  alfalfa  hay,  $1*0.07;  timothy  hay,  $5.97;  corn, 
$31.34;  and  oats  $8.85  and  convert  the  whole  into  a  finished 
product — as  butter,  which  when  sold  takes  away  with  it  but  27 
cents  in  fertility  for  each  ton?  Or  if  more  desirable,  why  not 
convert  these  crops  into  beef,  every  100  pounds  of  which  when 
shipped  from  the  farm  carries  away  fertility  to  the  extent  of  only 
51  cents? 


FERTILITY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  137 

Restoring  Fertility  in  the  South. 

In  the  Southern  states  the  productive  capacity  of  the  farm 
lands  has  been  materially  reduced  because  of  the  continued  drain 
upon  their  native  fertility  without  adequate  replacement.  This 
loss  is  recognized  by  practically  all  agricultural  observers.  A 
parallel  fact  is  that  up  to  1900  the  production  of  live  stock  in  the 
south  also  showed  a  steady  decrease.  Statistics  from  the  Federal 
census  show  that  with  the  opening  up  of  the  great  cattle  ranges 
of  the  West  and  the  consequent  cheap  beef,  the  southern  pro- 
ducer could  not  compete  on  his  relatively  high  priced  land.  Dur- 
ing the  50  years  preceding  1900,  Texas  cattle  for  instance  in- 
creased from  330,114  to  7,279,935  while  Tennessee  cattle  decreased 
in  the  same  period  from  750,762  to  676,183.  Since  1900,  the  great 
Texas  ranges  have  been  largely  broken  up  and  occupied  by  a 
farming  population  with  the  result  that  in  1910  the  Texas  cat'tle 
supply  showed  a  15%  decrease  since  1900,  whereas  the  Tennes- 
see cattle  showed  a  23%  increase.  This  condition  obtained  gen- 
erally in  the  South  as  compared  with  the  West. 

Now  because  the  Southern  producer  could  not  compete  with 
the  Western  ranges,  he  was  forced  into  the  growing  of  cotton, 
grain,  hay  and  such  other  crops  as  he  could  readily  dispose  of  on 
the  market  at  the  greatest  profit — a  system  that  naturally  re- 
sulted in  taking  from  the  soil  a  great  deal  of  fertility  and  putting 
little  or  nothing  back  into  the  soil  in  return.  The  fact  that  the 
future  beef  supply  of  this  nation  .  must  come  from  the  general 
farm,  introduces  "the  most  potent  reasons  why  the  Southern 
farmer  should  make  immediate  preparation  to  engage  more  ex- 
tensively in  the  production  of  beef  to  meet  the  strong  demand 
that  is  now  being  made  and  that  will  continue  to  be  made  upon 
the  farms  of  the  country.  The  silo  is  the  logical  source  of  cheap 
food,  supply  on  the  high  priced  lands  of  the  South,  and  is  quali- 
fied as  well  to  meet  the  crippled  feeding  situation,  occasioned  in 
many  communities  by  careless  methods  of  cultivation,  and  on 
such  lands  of  poorer  quality  as  will  not  justify  the  application  of 
sufficient  fertilizers  to  produce  paying  crops.  The  silo  increases 
the  stock  carrying  capacity  of  the  pasture,  and  with  its  common 
adoption  and  use  by  the  farmers  of  the  South  will  come  more  live 
stock  on  the  Southern  farm,  and  in  that  respect  no  modern 
farm  institution  promises  to  become  a  more  important  and  help- 


138  SILAGE  SYSTEM  MAINTAINS  FERTILITY. 

ful  factor  in  building  up  the  soils  of  the  agricultural  communi- 
ties of  this  vast  region." 

In  summing  up  the  foregoing  chapter  therefore,  it  will  be  gen- 
erally conceded  that  the  cheapest  and  most  effective  method  of 
building  up  the  soil  and  maintaining  it  in  a  good  state  of  fertility 
is  to  follow  a  good  rotation,  grow  plenty  of  legumes  and  apply 
the  barnyard  manure  to  the  land.  Their  value  in  building  up 
the  soil  is  one  of  the  strongest  reasons  for  keeping  live  stock. 
The  grain  and  roughage  is  fed  on  the  farm  and  the  stock  give 
it  back  to  the  land  in  fertilizer.  The  farmer  who  hauls  his 
grain  and  hay  to  market  must  obtain  fertilizer  from  some  other 
source  and  this  is  often  costly.  Now,  if  the  keeping  of  live  stock 
is  a  good  thing  for  the  farm,  any  system  that  permits  double  or 
triple  the  number  of  live  stock  to  be  kept  on  the  same  acreage 
is  naturally  much  better.  THE  SILAGE  SYSTEM  DOES  JUST 
THAT. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SILAGE  CROPS. 

Indian  Corn. — Indian  Corn  is,  as  has  already  been  stated,  the 
main  silage  crop  in  this  country,  and  is  likely  to  always  remain  so. 
Before  explaining  the  filling  of  the  silo  and  the  making  of  silage, 
it  will  be  well,  therefore,  to  state  briefly  the  main  conditions  which 
govern  the  production  of  a  large  crop  of  corn  for  the  silo,  and^o 
examine  which  varieties  of  corn  are  best  adapted  for  silage 
making. 

Soils  best  adapted  to  corn  culture  and  preparation  of  land. — 
The  soils  best  adapted  to  the  culture  of  Indian  corn  are  well- 
drained  medium  soils,  loams  or  sandy  loams,  in  a  good  state  of 
fertility.  Corn  will  give  best  results  coming  after  clover.  The 
preparation  of  the  land  for  growing  corn  is  the  same  whether  ear 
corn  or  forage  is  the  object.  Fall  plowing  is  practiced  by  many 
successful  corn  growers.  The  seed  is  planted  on  carefully  prepared 
ground  at  such  a  time  as  convenient  and  advisable.  Other  things 
being  equal,  the  earlier  the  planting  the  better,  after  the  danger  of 
frost  is  ordinarily  over.  "The  early  crop  may  fail,  but  the  late 
crop  is  almost  sure  to  fail."  After  planting,  the  soil  should  be  kept 
pulverized  and  thoroughly  cultivated.'  Shallow  cultivation  will 
ordinarily  give  better  results  than  deep  cultivation,  as  the  former 
method  suffices  to  destroy  the  weeds  and  to  preserve  the  soil 
moisture,  which  are  the  essential  points  sought  in  cultivating  crops. 
The  cultivation  should  be  no  more  frequent  than  is  necessary  for 
the  complete  eradication  of  weeds.  It  has  been  found  that  the  yield 
of  corn  may  be  decreased  by  too  frequent,  as  well  as  by  insufficient 
cultivation.  The  general  rule  may  be  given  to  cultivate  as  often, 
but  no  oftener,  than  is  necesary  to  kill  the  weeds,  or  keep  the 
soil  pulverized. 

The  cultivator  may  be  started  to  advantage  as  soon  as  the 
young  plants  break  through  the  surface,  and  the  soil  kept  stirred 
and  weeds  destroyed,  until  cultivation  is  no  longer  practicable. 

Varieties  of  corn  for  the  silo. — The  best  corn  for  the  silo,  in  any 
locality,  is  that  variety  which  will  be  reasonably  sure  to  mature 
before  frost,  and  which  produces  a  large  amount  of  foliage  and 

139 


140  SILAGE  CROPS. 

ears.  The  best  varieties  for  the  New  England  States  are  the 
Learning,  Sanford,  and  Flint  corn;  for  the  Middle  States,  Learning, 
White  and  Yellow  Dent;  in  the  Central  and  Western  States,  the 
Learning,  Sanford,  Flint  and  White  Dent  wil  be  apt  to  give  the  best 
results,  while  in  the  South,  the  Southern  Horse  Tooth,  Mosby 
Prolific  and  other  large  dent  corns  are  preferred. 

For  Canada,  Rennie  gives,  as  the  varieties  best  adapted  for 
the  silo:  for  Northern  Ontario,  North  Dakota  and  Compton's  Early 
Flint;  for  Central  Ontario,  larger  and  heavier  yielding  varieties 
may  be  grown,  viz.,  Mammoth  Cuban  and  Wisconsin  Earliest  White 
Dent.  It  is  useless  to  grow  a  variety  for  silage  which  will  not  be 
in  a  firm  dough  state  by  the  time  the  first  frosts  are  likely  to 
appear. 

Conditions  from  coast  to  coast  are  so  varied  that  it  is  impossible 
to  assign  particular  varieties  as  best  adapted  to  certain  localities. 
Specific  information  on  this  point  can  be  obtained  from  the 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  practically  every  state  or 
province  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

In  the  early  stages  of  siloing  corn  in  this  country,  the  effort 
was  to  obtain  an  immense  yield  of  fodder  per  acre,  no  matter 
whether  the  corn  ripened  or  not.  Large  yields  were  doubtless 
often  obtained  with  these  big  varieties,  although  it  is  uncertain 
that  the  actual  yields  ever  came  up  to  the  claims  made.  Bailey's 
Mammoth  Ensilage  Corn,  "if  planted  upon  good  corn  land,  in  good 
condition,  well  matured,  with  proper  cultivation,"  was  guaranteed 
to  produce  from  forty  to  seventy-five  tons  of  green  fodder  to  the 
acre,  "just  right  for  ensilage."  We  now  know  that  the  immense 
Southern  varieties  of  corn,  when  grown  to  an  immature  stage,  as 
must  necessarily  be  the  case  in  Northern  States,  may  contain 
less  than  ten  per  cent,  of  dry  matter,  the  rest  (more  than  nine- 
tenths  of  the  total  weight)  being  made  up  of  water.  This  is  cer- 
tainly a  remarkable  fact,  when  we  remember  that  skim  milk,  even 
when  obtained  by  the  separator  process  will  contain  nearly  ten  per 
cent,  of  solid  matter. 

In  speaking  of  corn  intended  to  be  cut  for  forage  at  an  imma- 
ture stage,  Prof.  Robertson,  of  Canada,  said  at  a  Wisconsin 
Farmers'  Institute,  "Fodder  corn  sowed  broadcast,  does  not  meet 
the  needs  of  milking  cows.  Such  a  fodder  is  mainly  a  device  of  a 
thoughtless  farmer  to  fool  his  cows  into  believing  that  they  have 


YIELDS   OF   SOUTHERN  AND   MAINE   CORN. 


141 


been  fed,  when  they  have  only  been  filled  up."  The  same  applies 
with  equal  strength  to  the  use  of  large,  immature  Southern 
varieties  of  fodder,  or  for  the  silo,  in  Northern  States. 

In  comparative  variety  tests  with  corn  in  the  North,  Southern 
varieties  have  usually  been  found  to  furnish  larger  quantities  per 
acre  of  both  green  fodder  and  total  dry  matter  in  the  fodder  than 
the  smaller  Northern  varieties.  As  an  average  of  seven  culture 
trials,  Professor  Jordan  thus  obtained  the  following  results  at  the 
Maine  Station. 


Table  IX. — Comparative  Yields  of  Southern  Corn  and  Maine  Field 
Corn  Grown   in  Maine,  1888-1893. 


SOUTHERN  CORN. 

MAINE  FIELD  CORN. 

Green 
Fodder. 

Dry 
Substance. 

Digestible 
Matter. 

Green 
Fodder. 

Dry 
Substance. 

Digestible 
Matter. 

Per 
Cent. 

Lbs. 

Per 
Cent. 

Lbs. 

Per 
Cent. 

Lbs. 

Per 
Ceot. 

Lbs. 

Maximum.. 
Minimum.. 
Average  — 

46,340 
26,295 
34,761 

16.58 
12.30 
14.50 

6,237 
3,234 
5,036 

69 
61 
65 

3,923 
2,102 
3,251 

29,400 
14,212 
22,269 

25.43 
13.55 
18.75 

7,064 
2,415 
4,224 

78 
70 
72 

4,945 
1,715 
3,076 

The  average  percentage  digestibility  of  the  dry  substance  is 
65  per  cent,  for  the  Southern  corn,  and  72  per  cent,  for  the  Maine 
field  corn,  all  the  results  obtained  for  the  former  varieties  being 
lower  than  those  obtained  for  the  latter.  While  the  general  result 
for  the  five  years,  so  far  as  the  yield  of  digestible  matter  is  con- 
cerned, is  slightly  in  favor  of  the  Southern  varieties,  the  fact 
should  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  an  average  of  G1/!  tons  more  of 
material  has  annually  to  be  handled  over  several  times,  in  case  of 
these  varieties  of  corn,  in  order  to  gain  175  pounds  more  of  diges- 
tible matter  per  acre;  we  therefore  conclude  that  the  smaller,  less 
watery,  variety  of  corn  really  proved  the  more  profitable. 

At  other  Northern  stations  similar  results,  or  results  more 
favorable  to  the  Northern  varieties,  have  been  obtained,  showing 
that  the  modern  practice  of  growing  only  such  corn  for  the  silo  as 
will  mature  in  the  particular  locality  of  each  farmer,  is  borne 
out  by  the  results  of  careful  culture  tests. 


142 


SILAGE  CROPS. 


Time  of  cutting  corn  for  the  silo. — In  order  to  determine  at 
what  stage  of  growth  corn  had  better  be  cut  when  intended  for  the 
silo,  it  is  necessary  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  food  materials 
which  the  corn  plant  contains  at  the  different  stages,  and  the 
proportion  of  different  ingredients  at  each  stage.  From  careful 
and  exhaustive  studies  of  the  changes  occurring  in  the  composition 
of  the  corn  plant,  which  have  been  conducted  both  in  this  country 
and  abroad,  we  know  that  as  corn  approaches  maturity  the  nitro- 
genous or  flesh-forming  substances  decrease  in  proportion  to  the 
other  components,  while  the  non-nitrogenous  components,  especi- 
ally starch  (see  Glossary),  increase  very  markedly;  this  increase 
continues  until  the  crop  is  nearly  mature,  so  long  as  the  leaves 
are  still  green.  Several  experiment  stations  have  made  investi- 
gations in  regard  to  this  point.  As  an  illustration  we  give  in 
Table  X  data  obtained  by  Prof.  Ladd,  in  an  investigation  in  which 
fodder  corn  was  cut  and  analyzed  at  five  different  stages  of 
growth,  from  full  tasseling  to  maturity. 


Table  X. — Chemical  Changes  in  the  Corn  Crop. 


Tas- 
YIELD  PER  ACRE                            seled. 
July  30 

Silked, 
Aug.  9 

Milk. 
Aug.  21 

Glazed. 
Sept.  7 

Ripe. 
Sept.  23 

Pounds. 

Gross  Weight     ...            .  .     |18045 

Pounds. 

25745 

Pounds. 
(32600 

Pounds. 

32295 

Pounds. 
28460 

Water  in  the  Crop  |16426 

22666 

27957 

25093 

20542 

Dry    Matter  2619 

3078 

4643 

7202 

7918 

Ash    ..            1389 

201.3 

232.2 

302.5 

364.2 

Crude   Protein                  .    .      .  .      239  8 

4368 

478.7 

643.9 

677.8 

Fiber                                                .      514  2 

8729 

1262.0 

2755.9 

1734.0 

Nitrogen-free  Extract 
(starch     sugar    etc  )                    653  9 

1399  3 

2441  3 

32398 

48276 

Crude    Fat    .                                 ..         72.2 

167.8 

228.9 

260.0 

314.3 

The  data  given  above  show  how  rapidly  the  yield  of  food 
materials  increases  with  the  advancing  age  of  the  corn,  and  also 
that  increase  during  the  later  stages  of  growth  comes  largely  on 
the  nitrogen-fed  extract  (starch,  sugar,  etc.). 


TABLE  OP  CHEMICAL     CHANGES. 


143 


DRY-  MATTER 
IN  CORN 
WHEN 


TA5SCLCO    OUT   fl.5   WHEN    R 

Bur  NOT£  DEFERENCE   IN  fooo    K/ILU 

/>«<«««•.  IV  DnffiS'  CoU«yt 


This  difference  in  food 
value  from  the  time  the  corn 
is  tasseled  out  until  it  is  ripe 
is  illustrated  in  the  accom- 
panying chart,  Fig.  51,  by 
Prof.  Palmer  of  the  North 
Dakota  Agricultural  College. 

The  results  as  to  this  point 
obtained  at  several  experi- 
ment stations  have  been  sum- 
marized and  are  given  in  the 
Table  XI,  showing  the  in- 
crease in  food  ingredients 
during  the  stages  previous  to 
maturity. 


Fig.  51. 

Table  XI. — Increase  in  Food  Ingredients  from  Tasseling  to 
Maturity. 


EXPERIMENT 
STATION 

Variety 

Stage  of  Maturity 

Gain  in  per  ct-  nt. 
between  first 
and  last  cutting 

First  Cutting 

Last  Cutting 

1 

£d 

QS 

Crude 
Protein 

0! 

II 

Carbo- 
Hyd's 

Cornell,  N.  Y... 
Cornell,  N.  Y... 
Geneva,  N.  Y... 
New  Hampshire 
Pennsylvania... 
Vermont  

Pride  of  the  North 
Pride  of  the  North 
Kingr  Philip  
Av.  of  4  varieties. 
Av.  of  10  varieties. 
Av.  of  2  varieties. 
Av.  of  2  varieties. 

Bloom  
Bloom  

Mature  
Nearly  mature 
Mature  

150 
217 
389 
112 
155 

90 
134 
183 
50 

129 
374 
335 
84 

169 
300 
462 
130 

Tasseled  
Tasseled  
Tasseled  
Tasseled  
Bloom  

Glazed  
Mature 

Glazed  
Glazed  

122 

204 

50 
81 

— 

Vermont 

Average  of  all  t 

rials                                  .  . 

193 

98 

230 

265 

We  thus  find  that  the  largest  amount  of  food  materials  in  the 
corn  crop  is  not  obtained  until  the  corn  is  well  ripened.  When  a 
corn  plant  has  reached  its  total  growth  in  height  it  has,  as  shown 
by  results  given  in  the  last  table,  attained  only  one-third  to  one- 
half  of  the  weight  of  dry  matter  it  will  gain  if  left  to  maturity; 
hence  we  see  the  wisdom  of  postponing  cutting  the  corn  for  the 
silo,  as  in  general  for  forage  purposes  until  rather  late  in  the 
season,  when  it  can  be  done  without  danger  of  frost. 


144  SILAGE  CROPS. 

The  table  given  in  the  preceding,  and  our  discussion  so  far, 
have  taken  into  account  only  the  total,  and  not  the  digestible 
components  of  the  corn. 

It  has  been  found  through  careful  digestion  trials  that  older 
plants  are  somewhat  less  digestible  than  young  plants.  There  is, 
however,  no  such  difference  in  the  digestibility  of  the  total  dry 
matter  or  its  components  as  is  found  in  the  total  quantities  ob- 
tained from  plants  at  the  different  stages  of  growth,  and  the  total 
yields  of  digestible  matter  in  the  corn  will  therefore  be  greater 
at  maturity,  or  directly  before  this  time,  than  at  any  earlier  stage 
of  growth.  Hence  we  find  that  the  general  practice  of  cutting  corn 
for  the  silo  at  the  time  when  the  corn  is  in  the  roasting-ear  stage, 
when  the  kernels  have  become  rather  firm,  and  are  dented  or  be- 
ginning to  glaze,  is  good  science  and  in  accord  with  our  best 
knowledge  on  the  subject. 

Other  reasons  why  cutting  at  a  late  period  of  growth  is  prefer- 
able in  siloing  corn  are  found  in  the  fact  that  the  quality  of  the 
silage  made  from  such  corn  is  much  better  than  that  obtained 
from  green  immature  corn,  and  in  the  fact  that  the  sugar  is  most 
abundant  in  the  corn  plant  in  the  early  stages  of  ear  development, 
but  the  loss  of  non-nitrogenous  components  in  the  silo  falls  first 
of  all  on  the  sugar,  hence  it  is  the  best  policy  to  postpone  cutting 
until  the  grain  is  full-sized  and  the  sugar  has  largely  been  changed 
to  starch. 

It  does  not  do,  however,  as  related  under  Uniformity  in  the 
first  chapter  to  delay  the  cutting  so  long  that  the  corn  plant  be- 
comes too  dry,  for  the  reason  stated.  Silage  does  not  spoil  when 
too  wet,  but  will  mold  if  too  dry.  Experience  will  be  the  best 
guide,  but  the  foregoing  pages  should  enable  the  reader  to  form  the 
right  idea  as  to  time  for  filling,  which  to  secure  the  best  results 
is  nearly  as  important  as  to  have  material  with  \vhich  to  fill  the 
silo. 

Methods  of  Planting  Corn. — When  the  corn  crop  is  intended  for 
the  silo,  it  should  be  planted  somewhat  closer  than  is  ordinarily 
the  case  when  the  production  of  a  large  crop  of  ear  corn  is  the 
primary  object  sought.  Thin  seeding  favors  the  development  of 
well- developed,  strong  plants,  but  not  the  production  of  a  large 
amount  of  green  forage.  The  number  of  plants  which  can  be 
brought"  to  perfect  development  on  a  certain  piece  of  land  depends 


METHOD  OF  PLANTING  CORN.  145 

upon  the  state  of  fertility  of  the  land,  the  character  of  the  season, 
especially  whether  it  is  a  wet  or  dry  season,  as  well  as  other  fac- 
tors, hence  no  absolute  rule  can  be  given  as  to  the  best  thickness 
of  planting  corn  for  the  silo.  Numerous  experiments  conducted  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  have  shown,  however,  that  the 
largest  quantities  of  green  fodder  per  acre  can  ordinarily  be  ob- 
tained by  planting  the  corn  in  hills  three  or  even  two  feet  apart, 
or  in  drills  three  or  four  feet  apart,  with  plants  six  or  eight  inches 
apart  in  the  row.  ^ 

It  makes  little  if  any  difference,  so  far  as  the  yield  obtained  is 
concerned,  whether  the  corn  is  planted  in  hills  or  in  drills,  when 
the  land  is  kept  free  from  weeds  in  both  cases,  but  it  facilitates 
the  cutting  considerably  to  plant  the  corn  in  drills  if  this  is  done 
by  means  of  a  corn  harvester  or  sled  cutter,  as  is  now  generally 
the  case.  The  yield  seems  more  dependent  on  the  number  of  plants 
grown  on  a  certain  area  of  land  than  on  the  arrangement  of  plant- 
ing the  corn.  Hills  four  feet  each  way,  with  four  stalks  to  the 
hill,  will  thus  usually  give  about  the  same  yield  as  hills  two  feet 
apart,  with  stalks  two  stalks  to  the  hill  or  drills  four  feet  apart 
with  stalks  one  foot  apart  in  the  row,  etc.  The  question  of  plant- 
ing corn  in  hills  or  in  drills  is  therefore  largely  one  of  greater  or 
less  labor  in  keeping  the  land  free  from  weeds  by  the  two  methods. 
This  will  depend  on  the  character  of  the  land;  where  the  land  is 
uneven,  and  check-rowing  of  the  corn  difficult,  or  when  the  land 
is  free  from  weeds,  drill  planting  is  preferable,  while,  conversely, 
on  fields  where  this  can  be  done,  the  corn  may  more  easily  and 
cheaply  be  kept  free  from  weeds  if  planted  in  hills  and  check- 
rowed.  Since  one  of  the  advantages  of  the  silo  is  economical  pro- 
duction and  preservation  of  a  good  quality  of  feed,  the  economy 
and  certainty  in  caring  for  the  growing  crop  is  of  considerable 
importance,  and  generally  planting  in  hills  not  too  far  apart  will 
be  found  to  facilitate  this,  especially  during  wet  season. 

Corn  is  planted  in  hills  or  in  drills,  and  not  broadcast,  whether 
intended  for  the  silo,  or  for  production  of  ear  corn;  when  sown 
broadcast,  the  corn  cannot  be  kept  free  from  weeds,  except  by 
hand  labor.  More  seed  is  moreover  required,  the  plants  shade  each 
other  and  will  therefore  not  reach  full  development,  from  lack  of 
sufficient  sunshine  and  moisture,  and  a  less  amount  of  available 
food  constituents  per  acre  will  be  produced. 


146  SILAGE  CROPS. 

Other  Silage  Crops. 

Clover.  We  are  but  beginning  to  appreciate  the  value  of  clover 
in  modern  agriculture.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  legumes,  the 
family  to  which  clover  belongs,  are  the  only  common  forage  plants 
able  to  convert  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air  into  compounds  that 
may  be  utilized  for  the  nutrition  of  animals.  Clover  and  other 
legumes,  therefore,  draw  largely  on  the  air  for  the  most  expensive 
and  valuable  fertilizing  ingredient,  nitrogen,  and  for  this  reason,  as 
well  as  on  account  of  their  deep  roots,  which  bring  fertilizing  ele- 
ments up  near  the  surface,  they  enrich  the  land  upon  which  they 
grow.  Being  a  more  nitrogenous  food  than  corn  or  the  grasses, 
clover  supplies  a  good  deal  of  the  protein  compounds  required  by 
farm  animals  for  the  maintenance  of  their  bodies  and  for  the  pro- 
duction of  milk,  wool  or  meat.  By  feeding  clover,  a  smaller  pur- 
chase of  high-priced  concentrated  feed  stuffs,  like  flour-mill  or  oil- 
mill  refuse  products,  is  therefore  rendered  necessary  than  when 
corn  is  fed;  on  account  of  its  high  fertilizing  value  it  furthermore 
enables  the  farmer  feeding  it  to  maintain  the  fertility  of  his  land. 

When  properly  made,  clover  silage  is  an  ideal  feed  for  nearly 
all  kinds  of  stock.  Aside  from  its  higher  protein  contents  it  has 
an  advantage  over  corn  silage  in  point  of  lower  cost  of  production. 
A  Wisconsin  dairy  farmer  who  has  siloed  large  quantities  of  clover 
estimates  the  cost  of  one  ton  of  clover  silage  at  70  cents  to  $1, 
against  $1  to  $1.25  per  ton  of  corn  silage.  His  average  yield  per 
acre  of  green  clover  is  about  twelve  tons. 

Clover  silage  is  superior  to  clover  hay  on  account  of  its  succu- 
lence and  greater  palatability,  as  well  as  its  higher  feeding  value. 
The  last- mentioned  point  is  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  all  the 
parts  of  the  clover  plant  are  preserved  in  the  silo,  with  a  small 
unavoidable  loss  in  fermentation,  while  in  hay-making,  leaves  and 
tender  parts,  which  contain  about  two-thirds  of  the  protein  com- 
pounds, are  often  largely  lost  by  abrasion. 

Contrasting  results  in  the  use  of  clover  for  silage  seem  to  in- 
dicate that  it  keeps  better  in  a  cool  climate  than  under  warm  or 
temperate  conditions.  At  the  Agassiz  Experiment  Station  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia  three  cuttings  of  red  clover  yielded  32  tons  of  green 
forage  to  the  acre  and  made  cheaper  silage  than  the  corn  plant. 
In  practically  every  instance  in  this  region  where  clover  has  been 
used  in  the  silo  the  results  have  been  satisfactory.  Prof.  Harry 


CLOVER  FOR  SUMMER  SILOS.  147 

Hayward  of  the  Pennsylvania  Experiment  Station  states  that  as 
a  result  of  experiments  carried  on  there  he  believes  a  small  amount 
of  clover  will  go  much  farther  in  the  silo  than  it  will  if  pastured. 
Attempts  at  the  Wisconsin  Experiment  Station  to  make  silage  out 
of  the  whole  clover  plant  without  chopping  were  not  satisfactory. 
By  running  the  green  clover  through  cutter,  however,  and  tramp- 
ing it  thoroughly,  fairly  good  results  were  obtained. 

The  latest  experiments  on  the  question  of  using  clover  as  silage 
have  been  conducted  at  the  Montana  Experiment  Station  by  Prof/ 
R.  W.  Clark.  His  results  showed  that  second  crop  clover  made 
into  silage  during  September  and  October  after  being  frozen,  kept 
well  until  May  and  June  the  following  year.  After  the  weather 
became  warm,  however,  it  grew  dark  in  color,  strong  in  odor  and 
was  not  relished  by  the  cows.  During  the  winter  months  the  cat- 
tle uniformly  had  a  keen  appetite  for  it. 

In  milk  production  2.33  pounds  of  clover  silage  was  required  to 
equal  one  pound  of  good  clover  hay,  this  difference  being  due 
largely  to  the  difference  in  moisture  content.  In  calculating  the 
results,  timothy  hay  was  placed  at  a  value  of  $10  a  ton,  clover 
hay  at  $6,  clover  silage  at  $2.50  a  ton,  and  grain  at  $20  a  ton. 

An  average  of  the  three  experiments,  which  were  conducted 
with  precautions  to  make  up  for  ihe  varying  individually  of  the 
cows,  showed  the  cost  of  producing  100  pounds  milk  was  73.9 
cents  on  clover  hay  and  73.4  cents  on  clover  silage.  The  cost  of 
a  pound  of  fat  on  the  hay  was  17.9  cents,  while  on  the  silage  it 
was  17.8.  The  daily  production  of  milk  on  clover  hay  was  22.8 
pounds  and  0.93  pound  of  fat,  compared  to  24.8  pounds  and  0.97 
pound  of  fat  on  the  clover  silage. 

The  general  indications  seem  to  be  that  clover  silage  has  a 
value  of  about  $2.55  a  ton  under  Montana  conditions  and  when  it 
is  necessary  to  save  the  crop  in  this  way  or  else  have  it  lose  value 
on  account  of  weather  conditions,  it  may  very  well  be  preserved 
in  the  silo. 

Under  corn  belt  conditions  where  corn  has  already  become 
established  as  the  favorite  silage  crop,  probably  little  clover  will 
be  used.  Very  frequently,  however,  the  clover  crop  is  threatened 
with  damage  by  rain  or  too  intense  sunshine,  and  it  may  be  easily 
and  cheaply  placed  in  a  silo  regardless  of  the  weather  and  pre- 
served in  a  perfect  condition.  The  failures  reported  in  the  early 


148 


SILAGE  CROPS. 


stages  of  silo  filling:  were  largely  due  to  the  faulty  construction  of 
the  silo.  Clover  does  not  pack  as  well  as  the  heavy  green  corn, 
and,  therefore,  requires  to  be  cut  and  weighted,  or  calls  for  greater 
depth  in  the  silo,  in  order  that  the  air  may  be  sufficiently  excluded. 

The  clover  should  not  be  left  to  wilt  between  cutting  and  silo- 
ing, and  the  silo  should  be  filled  rapidly,  so  as  to  cause  no  unneces- 
sary losses  by  fermentation. 

The  different  species  of  clover  will  prove  satisfactory  silo  crops; 
ordinary  red  or  medium  clover  is  most  used  in  Northwestern 
States,  along  with  mammoth  clover;  the  latter  matures  later  than 
medium  or  red  clover,  and  may  therefore  be  siloed  later  than  these. 

When  to  Cut  Clover  for  the  Silo. — The  yield  of  food  materials 
obtained  from  clover  at  different  stages  of  growth  has  been  studied 
by  a  number  of  scientists.  The  following  table  giving  the  results 
of  an  investigation  conducted  by  Professor  Atwater  will  show  the 
total  quantities  of  food  materials  secured  at  four  different  stages 
of  growth  of  red  clover: 


Table   XII. — Yield    Per  Acre   of    Red   Clover — in    Pounds. 


STAGE  OF  CUTTING 

Green 
Weight 

Dry 
flatter 

Crude 
Pro- 
tein 

Crude 
Fibre 

N-free 
Ex- 
tract 

Crude 
Fat 

Ash 

Just  before  bloom.  .  .  . 
Full  bloom  

3,570 

2,650 

1,385 
1,401 

198 
189 

384 
390 

664 

682 

24 

33 

115 
107 

Nearly  out  of  bloom.  . 
Nearly  ripe.  . 

4,960 
3.910 

1,750 
1,523 

230 
158 

523 

484 

837 
746 

31 
36 

129 
99 

Professor  Hunt  obtained  3,600  pounds  of  hay  per  acre  from 
clover  cut  in  full  bloom,  and  3,260  pounds  when  three-fourths  of 
the  heads  were  dead.  The  yields  of  dry  matter  in  the  two  cases 
were  2,526  pounds,  and  2,427  pounds  respectively.  All  compon- 
ents, except  fiber  (see  Glossary),  yielded  less  per  acre  in  the  sec- 
ond cutting.  Jordan  found  the  same  result,  comparing  the  yields 
and  composition  of  clover  cut  when  in  bloom,  some  heads  dead, 
and  heads  all  dead,  the  earliest  cutting  giving  the  maximum  yield 
of  dry  matter,  and  of  all  components  except  crude  fibre. 

The  common  practice  of  farmers  is  to  cut  clover  for  the  silo 
when  in  full  bloom,  or  when  the  first  single  heads  are  beginning  to 
wilt,  that  is,  when  right  for  hay-making,  and  we  notice  that  the 


CLOVER  FOR  SUMMER  SILOS.  149 

teachings  of  the  investigations  made  are  in  conformity  with  this 
practice. 

Many  farmers  are  increasing  the  value  of  their  corn  silage  by 
the  addition  of  clover.  A  load  of  clover  to  a  load  or  two  loads  of 
well- matured  corn  is  a  good  mixture. 

Clover  for  Summer  Silage. — By  filling  the  clover  into  the  silo 
at  midsummer,  or  before,  space  is  utilized  that  would  otherwise  be 
empty;  the  silage  will,  furthermore,  be  available  for  feeding  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  summer  and  during  the  fall,  when  the  pastures 
are  apt  to  run  short.  This  makes  it  possible  to  keep  a  larger  num- 
ber of  stock  on  the  farm  than  can  be  the  case  if  pastures  alone 
are  to  be  relied  upon,  and  thus  greatly  facilitates  intensive  farm- 
ing. Now  that  stave  silos  of  any  size  may  be  easily  and  cheaply 
put  up,  it  will  be  found  very  convenient  at  least  on  dairy  farms, 
to  keep  a  small  separate  silo  for  making  clover  silage  that  may  be 
fed  out  during  the  summer,  or  at  any  time  simultaneously  with 
the  feeding  of  corn  silage.  This  extra  silo  may  also  be  used  for 
the  siloing  of  odd  lots  of  forage  that  may  happen  to  be  available 
(see  page  159).  It  is  a  good  plan  in  siloing  clover  or  other  com- 
paratively light  crops  in  rather  small  silos,  to  put  a  layer  of  corn 
on  top  that  will  weight  down  the  mass  below,  and  secure  a  more 
thorough  packing  and  thereby  also  a  better  quality  of  silage. 

In  several  instances  where  there  has  still  been  a  supply  of 
clover  silage  in  the  silo,  green  corn  has  been  filled  in  on  top  of  the 
clover,  and  the  latter  has  been  sealed  and  thus  preserved  for  a 
number  of  years.  Corn  silage  once  settled  and  "sealed,"  will  also 
keep  perhaps  indefinitely  when  left  undisturbed  in  the  silo,  with- 
out deteriorating  appreciably  in  feeding  value  or  palatability. 

Says  a  Canadian  dairy  farmer:  "If  we  were  asked  for  our 
opinion  as  to  what  will  most  help  the  average  dairy  farmer,  I  think 
we  would  reply:  Knowledge  of  a  balanced  ration,  the  Babcock 
test,  and  a  summer  silo;  then  varying  the  feed  of  individual  ani- 
mals according  to  capacity;  as  shown  by  scales  and  close  observa- 
tion." Prof.  Neale  and  others  recommended  the  use  of  scarlet 
clover  for  summer  silage,  for  Delaware  and  States  under  similar 
climatic  conditions. 

Prof.  Cottrell  writing  for  Kansas  farmers,  says:  "Silage  will 
keep  as  long  as  the  silo  is  not  opened,  and  has  been  kept  in  good 
condition  for  seven  years.  This  is  a  special  advantage  for  Kansas 


150  SILAGE  CROPS. 

dairymen,  as  in  years  of  heavy  crops  the  surplus  can  be  stored  in 
silos  for  years  of  drouth,  making  all  years  good  crop  years  for  silo 
dairymen." 

Alfalfa  (lucerne)  is  the  great,  coarse  forage  plant  of  the  West, 
and  during  late  years  it  ha's  been  grown  considerably  in  the  North- 
ern and  Central  States.  In  irrigated,  districts  it  will  yield  more 
food  materials  per  acre  of  land  than  perhaps  any  other  crop.  Four 
to  five  cuttings,  each  yielding  a  ton  to  a  ton  and  a  half  of  hay,  are 
common  in  these  regions,  and  the  yields  obtained  are  often  much 
higher.  In  humid  regions  three  cuttings  may  ordinarily  be  ob- 
tained, each  of  one  to  one  and  a  half  tons  of  hay. 

Much  has  been  written  regarding  the  mixture  of  alfalfa  with 
other  crops  in  the  silo  to  secure  a  balanced  ration.  It  is  true  that 
there  is  perhaps  no  crop  better  than  alfalfa  for  balancing  corn 
silage.  But  the  best  practice  among  Western  feeders  and  colleges 
is  to  supply  this  ration  in  the  dry  form.  In  this  way  it  furnishes 
the  necessary  roughage  to  neutralize  the  succulence  of  the  silage, 
and  enables  the  feeder  to  balance  his  feed  to  suit  the  needs  of  dif- 
ferent animals  or  different  classes  of  stock. 

Alfalfa  finds  its  greatest  friend  in  the  silo  in  seasons  when  for 
any  reason  it  cannot  be  properly  cured.  It  may  then  be  siloed  and 
preserved  to  great  advantage. 

While  the  large  bulk  of  the  crop  is  cured  as  hay,  alfalfa  is 
nevertheless  of  considerable  importance  as  a  silage  crop  in  dairy 
and  beef  sections  of  the  Western  States.  As  with  red  clover,  re- 
ports of  failure  in  siloing  alfalfa  are  on  record,  but  first-class 
alfalfa  silage  can  be  readily  made  in  deep,  modern  silos,  when  the 
crop  is  cut  when  in  full  bloom,  and  the  plants  are  not  allowed  to 
wilt  much  before  being  run  through  a  cutter  and  siloed.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  dairymen  who  have  had  large  experience  in  siloing 
alfalfa,  sweet  alfalfa  silage  is  more  easily  made  than  good  alfalfa 
hay. 

A  general  summary  of  alfalfa  silage  experiments  at  the  Col- 
orado experiment  station  states  that  under  the  best  of  ordinary 
conditions,  for  every  hundred  pounds  of  feeding  value  in  green 
alfalfa  at  the  time  it  is  cut,  77  pounds  will  be  saved  if  the  hay  is 
well  cured  and  put  in  a  stack  under  good  conditions.  If  it  is  put 
into  the  barn,  86  pounds  will  be  saved  and  90  pounds  if  it  is  made 
into  first-class  silage.  The  extra  cost  of  putting  it  up  as  silage  is 


CLOVER  FOR  SUMMER  SILOS.  151 

believed  to  be  somewhat  balanced  up  by  the  fact  that  alfalfa  can 
be  put  into  a  silo  even  under  bad  weather  conditions.  In  general 
the  results  from  the  use  of  alfalfa  as  a  silage  crop  have  indicated 
that  it  makes  first-class  feed  and  keeps  well  for  the  first  few 
months,  but  that  after  this  time  there  is  a  tendency  to  decompose, 
take  on  a  bad  odor  and  lose  considerable  of  its  feeding  value. 

What  has  been  said  in  regard  tcrttre-silaing  of  clover  refers  to 
alfalfa  as  well.  Alfalfa  silage  compares  favorably  with  clover 
silage,  both  in  chemical  composition  and  in  feeding  value.  It  is 
richer  in  flesh-forming  substances  (protein)  than  clover  silage,  or 
any  other  kind  of  silage,  and  makes'  a  most  valuable  feed  for  farm 
animals,  especially  young  stq/ck  and  dairy  cows. 

Additional  information  regarding  the  use  of  alfalfa  as  a  silage 
drop  will  be  found  in  chapter  eight  of  this  book,  entitled  "Silage 
Crops  for  the  Semi-Arid  Regions  and  for  the  South." 

Cow  Peas  are  to  the  South  what  alfalfa  is  to  the  West,  and 
when  properily  handled  make  excellent  and  most  valuable  silage. 
The  cow  peas  are  sown  early  in  the  season,  either  broadcast,  about 
1%  bushels  to  the  acre  and  turned  under  with  a  one-horse  turning 
plow,  or  drilled  in  rows  about  two  feet  apart.  They  are  cut  with 
a  mower  when  one-half  or  more  of  the  peas  on  the  vines  are  fully 
ripe,  and  are  immediately  raked  in  windrows  and  hauled  to  the 
silo,  where  they  are  run  through  a  feed  cutter  and  cut  into  inch 
or  half  inch  lengths. 

Cow  pea  silage  is  greatly  relished  by  farm  animals  after  they 
once  become  accustomed  to  its  peculiar  flavor;  farmers  "v^jao  have 
had  considerable  practical  experience  in  feeding  this  silage  are  of 
the  opinion  that  cow-pea  silage  has  no  equal  for  cows  and  sheep. 
It  is  also  a  good  hog  food,  and  for  all  these  animals  is  considered 
greatly  superior  to  pea-vine  hay.  In  feeding  experiments  at  a 
Delaware  experiment  station  six  pounds  of  pea-vine  silage  fully 
took  the  place  of  one  pound  of  wheat  bran,  and  the  product  of  one 
acre  was  found  equivalent  to  two  tons  of  bran. 

Instead  of  placing  only  cow  peas  in  the  silo,  alternate  loads  of 
cow  peas  and  corn  may  be  cut  and  filled  into  the  silo,  which  will 
make  a  very  satisfactory  mixed  silage,  much  richer  in  muscle 
building  material  than  pure  corn  silage.  A  modification  of  this 
practice  is  known  as  Getty's  method,  in  which  corn  and  cow  peas 
are  grown  in  alternate  rows,  and  harvested  together  with  a  corn 


152  SILAGE  CROPS. 

harvester.  Corn  for  this  combination  crop  is  preferably  a  large 
Southern  variety,  drilled  in  rows  4%  feet  apart,  with  stalks  9  to 
16  inches  apart  in  the  row.  Whippoorwill  peas  are  planted  in  drills 
close  to  the  rows  of  corn  when  this  is  about  six  inches  high,  and 
has  been  cultivated  once.  The  crop  is  cut  when  the  corn  is  begin- 
ning to  glaze,  and  when  three-fourths  of  the  pea  pods  are  ripe. 

The  corn  and  peas  are  tied  into  bundles  and  these  run  through 
the  silage  cutter.  The  cut  corn  and  peas  are  carefully  leveled  off 
and  trampled  down  in  the  silo,  and  about  a  foot  cover  of  green 
corn,  straw  or  cottonseed  hulls  placed  on  top  of  the  siloed  mass. 
As  in  case  of  all  legumes,  it  is  safest  to  wet  the  cover  thoroughly 
with  at  least  two  gallons  of  water  per  square  foot  of  surface.  This 
will  seal  the  siloed  mass  thoroughly  and  will  prevent  the  air  from 
working  in  from  the  surface  and  spoiling  considerable  of  the 
silage  on  top. 

Robertson  Silage  Mixture. — A  similar  effort  of  combining 
several  feeds  for  the  silo  is  found  in  the  so-called  Robertson  Silage 
Mixture  for  the  silo,  named  after  Prof.  Robertson  in  Canada. 
This  is  made  up  of  cut  Indian  corn,  sunflower  seed  heads,  and 
horse  beans  in  the  proportion  of  1  acre  corn,  %  acre  horse  beans, 
and  i/4  acre  sunflowers.  The  principle  back  of  the  practice  is  to 
furnish  a  feed  richer  in  protein  substance  than  corn,  and  thus 
avoid  the  purchase  of  large  quantities  of  expensive  protein  foods 
like  bran,  oil  meal,  etc.  Feeding  experiments  conducted  with  the 
Robertson  Silage  Mixture  for  cows  at  several  experiment  stations 
have  gi^en  very  satisfactory  results,  and  have  shown  that  this 
silage  mixture  can  be  partly  substituted  for  the  grain  ration  of 
milch  cows  without  causing  loss  of  flesh  or  lessening  the  produc- 
tion of  milk  or  fat.  Fifteen  pounds  of  this  silage  may  be  consid- 
ered equivalent  to  three  or  four  pounds  of  grain  feeds.  The  prac- 
tice has  not,  however,  been  adopted  to  any  great  extent,  so  far  as 
is  Known,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  securing  a  good  quality  of 
silage  from  the  mixture  and  of  growing  the  horse  beans  success- 
fully. 

Soy  beans  are  another  valuable  silage  crop.  According  to  the 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  the  soy  bean  is  highly  nutritive, 
gives  a  heavy  yield,  and  is  easily  cultivated.  The  vigorous  late 
varieties  are  well  adapted  for  silage.  On  account  of  their  highly 
nitrogenous  character,  soy  beans  are  most  economical  when 


SOY  BEANS  AND  SORGHUM.  153 

mixed  with  corn,  and  like  other  legumes  they  improve  the  silage 
by  tending  to  counteract  the  acid  reaction  of  the  corn.  The  mix- 
ture also  produces  a  more  nearly  balanced  ration  than  either  crop 
alone,  and  avoids  the  necessity  of  using  purchased  concentrates 
such  as  grain,  bran,  cottonseed,  etc.  Some  have  found  that  the 
soy  beans  save  rt  least  half  the  grain  bill.  The  crops  may  be 
mixed  to  best  advantage  for  both  cutting  and  feeding,  by  placing 
the  soy  beans  on  top  r»f  the  corn  as  it  enters  the  silage  cutter,  in 
the  proportion  of  two,  three,  four  or  five  parts  of  corn,  as  desired, 
to  one  part  of  soy  beans.  The  latter  should  be  siloed  when  the 
pods  are  well  formed  and  the  seeds  are  nearly  grown.  Of  other 
southern  crops  tnat  are  used  for  silage  may  be  mentioned  chicken 
corn  and  teosinte. 

Sorghums. —  Sorghum  crops,  both  saccharine  and  non- 
accharine  (sweet  and  non-sweet),  can  be  used  for  silage  with  good 
results.  The  saccharine  sorghums  include  the  Amber,  Orange, 
Sumac  and  Gooseneck  groups.  The  non-saccharine  varieties  em- 
brace the  Kafir  and  White  Milo  groups,  and  the  Dhoura  group. 
Their  drouth-resistant  qualities  have  done  much  to  make  sorghum 
the  leading  crop  in  the  drier  parts  of  the  South  and  West — they 
remain  fresh  and  green  through  drouths  that  would  ruin  corn. 
They  are  also  less  liable  to  be  damaged  by  insects  than  corn.  The 
yield  per  acre  of  green  sorghum  will  often  reach  20  tons,  or  one- 
half  again  as  much  as  a  good  crop  of  corn.  The  Ottawa  (Can.) 
Station  states  that  sorghum,  where  it  can  be  grown,  makes  an 
excellent  crop  for  silage.  It  needs  to  be  cut,  the  best  length,  as  In 
the  case  of  corn,  being  about  one-half  inch. 

While  the  sorghums  are  adapted  for  growing  on  almost  any 
kind  of  soil  they. produce  best  on  fairly  heavy,  well  drained  loams, 
rich  in  humus;  but  when  grown  on  gumbo,  hard-pan,  sandy  or 
other  poor  soils,  they  are  more  successful  than  most  other  crops. 

Sorghums  usually  yield  well  with  little  care.  They  are  excel- 
lent to  plant  on  prairie  sod  or  alfalfa  sod.  For  silage,  sorghum 
should  be  planted  in  rows  like  corn  and  cultivated;  in  fact,  the 
crop  is  handled  throughout  like  corn. 

In  experiments  at  the  Tennessee  Station,  A.  M.  Soule  found  that" 
"as  fine  a  quality  of  silage  can  be  made  from  sorghum  as  from 
any  other  crop  and  there  seems  to  be  little  choice  between  the 
feeding  values  of  sorghum  and  corn  silage  for  beef  production." 


154  SILAGE  CROPS. 

He  states  that  "farmers  who  experience  difficulty  in  making  good 
silage  either  cut  the  crops  too  green  or  else  have  improperly  con- 
structed silos." 

Sorghum,  like  corn,  contains  an  excess  of  carbohydrates  and  is 
somewhat  deficient  in  protein.  Its  value  is  increased  therefore  by 
the  addition  of  some  leguminous  crop  such  as  cow  peas. 

Reports  in  the  agricultural  press  indicate  that  many  feeders 
make  a  practice  of  combining  their  kafir,  milo  or  sorghum  in  the 
silo  with  corn,  or  with  cow  peas,  field  peas  or  other  legume, 
and  with  success. 

Further  information  regarding  the  sorghum  crops  for  silage, 
including  the  latest  experiments  along  that  line,  will  be  found  in 
Chapter  VIII.,  where  silage  crops  for  the  Semi-Arid  Regions  are 
discussed. 

Sorghum  bagasse  is  the  name  given  to  the  crushed  stalk  of 
sorghum  cane,  and  has  been  used  with  some  success  as  silage. 
In  Prof.  Henry's  "Feeds  and  Feeding,"  he  says:  "The  bagasse,  or 
waste,  of  the  sorghum  syrup  factories,  which  has  considerable 
feeding  value,  should  not  be  wasted,  but  may  be  satisfactorily 
ensiled."  Naturally,  bagasse  is  a  little  dryer  than  most  crops  as 
they  are  put  into  the  silo,  and  the  addition  of  water  would  greatly 
assist  in  packing  it  tight  enough  together  to  keep  out  the  air  and 
thus  prevent  spoiling.  Corn  may  be  mixed  with  the  bagasse  if 
desired.  As  a  safeguard  against  spoilage,  the  bagasse  should  be 
siloed  as  soon  as  it  comes  from  the  mill  and  in  considerable  quan- 
tity each  day. 

Feterita  is  a  comparatively  new  semi-arid  crop  that  has  abso- 
lutely proved  itself  as  an  early  maturing  drouth-resistant  feed. 
Its  superiority  over  any  similar  crop  was  conspicuous  under  the 
severe  conditions  of  1914  throughout  Oklahoma.  It  is  generally 
conceded  to  be  almost  exactly  the  equal  of  kafir  corn  and  milo 
maize  in  food  value  and  in  its  proportion  of  various  elements,  and 
since  both  of  these  crops  make  excellent  silage  it  will  doubtless 
follow  in  the  same  class.  A  large  number  of  silo  owners  in 
Oklahoma  and  Texas  are  trying  out  this  crop  at  the  time  this  book 
goes  to  press. 

Teosinte. — This  forage  plant  in  tassel  and  appearance  closely 
resembles  corn  with  no  ear  formed.  Stock  relish  it  and  its  food 
value  is  high.  It  is  very  juicy  and  succulent  and  has  been  sue- 


VARIOUS  CROPS  FOR  SILAGE.  155 

cessfully  siloed,  but  is  not  so  grood  for  this  purpose  as  corn.  Burk- 
ett  says  that  if  allowed  to  mature  and  used  as  dry  fodder  it  makes 
a  very  heavy  yield,  running  several  tons  of  dry  matter  to  the  acre. 
It  demands  a  rich  soil  with  a  good  deal  of  moisture,  and  is  partial 
to  hot  climates,  but  unlike  sorghum  and  kaflr,  it  cannot  resist 
drouth. 

Kale. — The  Oregon  Experiment  Station  at  Corvallis  reports  very 
palatable  silage  from  a  mixture  of  eight  tons  of  Kale  and  two  tons 
of  mixed  hay,  cut  short  and  well  packed.  Kale  is  not  well  adapted 
for  a  silage  crop,  however,  on  account  of  its  high  water  content, 
and  should  only  be  put  in  the  silo  to  avoid  a  loss  in  the  spring. 

Sudan  Grass,  a  wonderful  drouth-resister,  supposed  to  be  the 
parent  stock  of  the  cultivated  sorghums,  is  making  rapid  strides 
as  a  hay  and  fodder  crop  throughout  Colorado,  Oklahoma,  South- 
ern California  and  the  Southwest  generally.  The  seed  is  hard  to 
distinguish  from  Johnson  grass.  For  large  yields  it  should  be 
planted  in  rows  from  30  to  36  inches  apart,  using  from  2  to  4 
pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre,  and  cultivated.  On  account  of  its  new- 
ness and  the  heavy  demand  for  seed,  data  is  not  available  as  to 
its  feeding  value.  It  is  the  general  opinion  of  feeders,  however, 
that  it  will  make  an  excellent  silage  crop,  if  allowed  to  mature 
properly  before  being  placed  in  the  silo. 

Devil  Grass  or  Broncho  Grass  and  Fox  Tail  have  sometimes 
proved  a  problem  to  alfalfa  growers  in  California.  Some  feeders 
have  found  that  the  beards  of  the  Devil  Grass  and  Fox  Tail  are 
rendered  harmless  by  cutting  and  siloing  them  along  with  the  oat 
hay,  barley  or  wheat  hay  and  second  cutting  of  alfalfa  and  that  it 
makes  a  silage  superior  to  alfalfa  and  grain  hay  silage  alone, 
leaving  the  ground  available  for  a  crop  of  corn. 

Vetches  are  relished  by  livestock  of  all  kinds.  They  are  ex- 
cellent for  milk  production  and  have  splendid  fattening  properties. 
Being  of  the  legume  family,  they  are  best  adapted  for  hay,  but 
when  conditions  are  unfavorable  they  may  be  cut  into  short 
lengths  and  well  packed  in  the  silo  and  will  make  a  very  agree- 
able feed.  They  should  be  cut  the  same  time  as  for  hay. 

Peanuts  are  especially  valuable  if  mixed  with  kafir  corn  in  the 
silo,  as  they  make  a  much  better  balanced  feed  than  kafir  corn 
alone. 


156  SILAGE  CROPS. 

Broom  Corn. — Excellent  results  have  been  obtained  in  North- 
west Oklahoma  and  Southwest  Kansas  by  cutting  the  broqm  corn 
stalks  after  the  tops  have  been  removed  and  preserving  them  in  the 
silo.  Such  silage  contains  no  grain,  and  is,  of  course,  greatly  in- 
ferior to  other  crops  that  contain  grain,  but  it  is  a  practical  way 
of  saving  this  feed,  that  otherwise  would  be,  to  a  large  extent, 
lost. 

Johnson  Grass  is  a  tall  vigorous  grass,  closely  related  to  the 
sorghums.  As  a  silage  crop  it  has  not  been  used  except  to  a  lim- 
ited extent,  but  it  has  possibilities  worth  investigating.  One  of  the 
southern  Agricultuial  Colleges  partially  filled  a  silo  with  Johnson 
grass  in  1913  and  claim  good  results,  so  that  further  tests  will 
be  made  with  it. 

Miscellaneous  Silage  Crops. — In  Northern  Europe,  especially  in 
England,  and  the  Scandinavian  countries,  meadow  grass  and  after- 
math (rowen)  are  usually  siloed;  in  England,  at  the  present  time, 
largely  in  stacks. 

In  districts  near  sugar  beet  factories,  where  sugar-beet  pulp  can 
be  obtained  in  large  quantities  and  at  a  low  cost,  stock  raisers  and 
dairymen  have  a  most  valuable  aid  in  preserving  the  pulp  in  the 
silo.  As  the  pulp  is  taken  from  the  factory  it  contains  about  90 
per  cent,  of  water;  it  packs  well  in  the  silo,  being  heavy,  finely 
divided  and  homogeneous,  and  a  more  shallow  silo  can  therefore 
be  safely  used  in  making  pulp  silage  than  is  required  in  siloing 
corn,  and  especially  clover  and  other  crops  of  similar  character. 
If  pulp  is  siloed  with  other  fodder  crops,  it  is  preferably  placed 
uppermost,  for  the  reason  stated.  Beet  tops  and  pulp  are  often 
siloed  in  alternate  layers  in  pits  3  to  4  feet  deep,  and  covered  with 
boards  and  a  layer  of  dirt.  Beet  pulp  can  also  be  successfully 
placed  in  any  modern  deep  silo,  and  is  preferably  siloed  in  such 
silos  as  there  will  then  be  much  smaller  losses  of  food  materials 
than  in  case  of  shallow  silos  or  trenches  in  the  field. 

Beet  pulp  silage  is  relatively  rich  in  protein  and  low  in  ash 
and  carbohydrates  (nutr.  ratio  1:5.7;  see  Glossary).  Its  feeding 
value  is  equal  to  about  half  that  of  corn  silage. 

The  Colorado  Station  has  found  that  two  tons  of  pulp  are  the 
equivalent  of  one  ton  of  beets,  which  confirms  the  Nebraska  test 
showing  the  feeding  value  of  sugar  beets  to  be  practically  equiv- 


WHEAT,  RYE  AND  OATS.  157 

alent  to  corn  silage,  pound  for  pound,  for  dairy  cows.     The  use  of 
beet  tops  for  silage  is  discussed  on  page  166  of  this  book. 

Wheat,  rye  and  oats  have  been  siloed  for  summer  feeding  with 
some  success.  They  should  be  cut  in  ^4  inch  lengths  and  well 
tramped  around  the  edges.  A  recent  correspondent  in  Hoard's 
Dairyman  tells  of  sowing  some  23  acres  of  rye  and  9  acres  of  wheat 
in  the  fall  and  filling  one  silo  with  the  rye  the  following  May  and 
the  other  with  wheat  early  in  June,  just  when  they  were  headed 
out  but  before  the  grain  was  actually  formed.  Several  acres  of 
oats  and  peas  were  put  into  a  third  silo  the  first  week  in  July. 
In  cutting  the  rye  and  wheat  it  was  necessary  to  take  the  precau- 
tion of  cutting  into  short  lengths  and  of  carefully  treading  and 
packing  it  in  the  silo,  in  order  to  insure  its  keeping  qualities.  "It 
has  kept  very  well  until  entirely  consumed  by  the  cattle,  and  we 
have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  would  not  have  kept  if  we  had 
not  used  it  up  when  we  did.  But  our  experience  has  been  that 
neither  the  rye  nor  the  wheat  is  equal  to  corn  silage  for  feed. 
In  fact  the  cows  did  not  eat  the  rye  as  clean  as  they  should  have 
done  and  fell  off  somewhat  in  milk.  When  we  began  on  the  wheat, 
however,  they  did  better,  and  we  believe  the  wheat  to  be  better 
material  for  silage  than  rye." 

Oats  and  peas  may  be  put  into  the  silo  and  they  make  a  very 
satisfactory  silage.  As  a  rule,  those  plants  which  have  a  hollow 
stem,  like  oats,  do  not  keep  well  in  the  silo  unless  great  care  is 
taken  to  have  them  very  well  tramped,  as  the  hollow  stems  carry 
too  much  air.  If  the  late  summer  and  fall  are  not  too  dry  it  will 
be  possible  to  produce  a  crop  of  cow  peas  for  ensilage,  planted 
after  oats  harvest. 

Oats  have  been  put  in  the  silo  to  kill  mustard  seed  before  the 
latter  plants  were  matured,  but  after  maturity  the  seeds  are  so 
well  protected  that  it  is  doubtful  if  the  heating  and  fermentation 
would  destroy  them. 

When  legumes  such  as  alfalfa,  clover,  vetch  and  peaa  are  put 
into  the  silo,  they  should  be  ensiled  with  some  such  crop  as  corn, 
rye  or  oats.  The  legumes  alone  do  not  contain  enough  sugar  to 
afford  the  production  of  sufficierit  acid  to  prevent  the  high  protein 
content  of  the  legume  from  decaying.  The  corn,  rye  or  oats,  mixed 
with  the  legumes,  would  provide  sugar  for  the  production  of  suf- 
ficient acid  to  preserve  both  plants.  The  rye  should  be  mixed 


158  SILAGE  CROPS. 

with  the  legume  in  the  proportion  of  two- thirds  legume  and  one- 
third  rye.  In  this  way,  rye  may  be  sown  for  fall  and  spring  pas- 
ture, cut  for  silage  and  the  ground  plowed  and  used  for  some  other 
crop. 

Occasional  mention  has  furthermore  been  made  in  the  agri- 
tural  literature  of  the  siloing  of  a  large  number  of  plants,  or 
products,  like  vetches,  small  grains  (cut  green),  buckwheat,  arti- 
choke tops,  cabbage  leaves,  sugar  beets,  potatoes,  potato  leaves, 
turnips,  brewers'  grains,  apple  pomace,  refuse  from  corn  and  pea 
canning  factories;  twigs,  and  leaves,  and  hop  vines;  even  fern 
(brake),  thistles,  and  ordinary  weeds  have  been  made  into  silage, 
and  used  with  more  or  less  success  as  foods  for  farm  animals. 

The  value  of  fern,  or  common  brake,  for  silage  is  very  doubt- 
ful. It  grows  on  the  wild  pasture  lands  throughout  Western  Ore- 
gon and  has  practically  no  feeding  value.  The  Corvallis,  (Ore.) 
Station  says  that  it  is  very  dangerous  when  fed  to  horses  because 
of  a  stringent  quality  which  causes  a  serious  nervous  disorder. 
Where  farmers  are  troubled  with  a  large  quantity  of  fern  in  their 
hay  crop  they  should  use  a  crop  rotation,  including  a  cultivated 
crop,  which  will  soon  get  rid  of  the  fern  and  permit  the  raising 
of  profitable  crops. 

A  Wisconsin  farmer  has  been  using  Canada  thistles  as  silage 
for  several  seasons.  He  claims  that  after  they  have  been  cut  up 
and  placed  in  the  silo  for  a  week  or  two,  they  become  very  soft 
and  palatable  and  says  that  the  cattle  eat  this  food  ravenously 
to  the  last  scrap  and  never  seem  to  get  enough  of  it. 

Russian  Thistles  have  been  used  for  silage  to  a  considerable 
extent  in  the  Dakotas  west  of  the  river,  and  in  Colorado,  Wyoming 
and  other  semi-arid  sections,  with  good  results.  They  have  strong 
drouth-resistant  qualities  and  are  very  nutritious.  Analysis  shows 
them  to  closely  resemble  alfalfa  in  food  value  with  about  18% 
protein.  The  plant  is  eaten  with  relish  by  all  kinds  of  live  stock. 
The  Russian  thistle  has  usually  been  considered  a  detriment  and  a 
pest.  Farmers  are  advised  against  raising  them  either  for  silage 
or  forage,  or  allowing  them  to  take  possession  of  their  places.  But 
the  very  fact  that  they  thrive  most  abundantly  in  dry  years,  just 
when  silage  crops  are  most  likely  to  be  scarce,  is  the  soundest 
reason  why  the  pest  should  be  turned  to  good  account  in  the  silo 
and  this  is  just  what  hundreds  of  farmers  are  doing. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CROPS.  159 

As  to  the  use  of  weeds  it  is  a  known  fact  that  live  stock  of  all 
kinds  will  eat  nearly  any  kind  of  weeds  in  certain  seasons  and 
under  certain  conditions,  and  thrive  on  them.  At  a  recent  conven- 
tion of  the  California  Dairy  Association  the  president,  Mr.  A.  P. 
Martin,  stated  that  the  best  silage  he  ever  made,  besides  corn, 
was  made  of  weeds.  A  piece  of  wheat  which  was  sowed  early, 
was  drowned  out,  and  the  field  came  up  with  tar  weed  and  sorrel. 
This  was  made  into  silage,  and  when  fed  to  milch  cows,  produced 
most  satisfactory  results. 

Alvord  says  that  a  silo  may  be  found  a  handy  and  profitable 
thing  to  have  on  a  farm  even  if  silage  crops  are  not  regularly 
raised  to  fill  it.  There  are  always  waste  products,  green  or  half- 
dry.  with  coarse  materials  like  swale  hay,  that  are  generally  used 
for  compost  or  bedding,  which  may  be  made  into  palatable  silage. 
A  mixture,  in  equal  parts,  of  rag-weed,  swamp  grass  or  swale  hay, 
old  corn  stalks  or  straw,  and  second-crop  green  clover,  nearly 
three-fourths  of  which  would  otherwise  be  almost  useless,  will 
make  a  superior  silage,  surprising  to  those  who  have  never  tried 
it. 

The  following  description  of  the  contents  filled  into  a  New 
York  silo,  which  was  used  as  a  sort  of  catch-all,  is  given  by  the 
same  writer:  18  in.  deep  of  green  oats;  6  in.  of  red  clover;  6  in. 
of  Canada  field  peas;  3  in.  of  brewers'  grains;  2  feet  of  whole  corn 
plants,  sowed  broadcast,  and  more  rag- weed  than  corn;  5  in.  of 
second-crop  grass;  12  in.  of  sorghum;  and  a  lot  immature  corn 
cut  in  short  lengths.  The  silage  came  out  pretty  acid,  but  made 
good  forage,  and  was  all  eaten  up  clean.  Damaged  crops  like 
frosted  beets,  potatoes,  cabbages,  etc.;  rutabagas  which  showed 
signs  of  decay,  and  clover  that  could  not  be  made  into  hay  because 
of  rain,  may  all  be  placed  in  a  silo  and  thus  made  to  contribute  to 
the  food  supply  on  the  farm. 

A  peculiar  use  of  the  silo  is  reported  from  California,  viz.,  for 
rendering  .foxtail  in  alfalfa  fields  harmless  in  feeding  cattle.  The 
foxtail  which  almost  takes  the  first  crop  of  alfalfa  in  many  parts 
of  California  is  a  nutritious  grass,  but  on  account  of  its  beards, 
is  dangerous  to  feed,  if  cut  when  nearly  ripe  or  later.  By  siloing 
the  crop  the  foxtail  will  be  rendered  harmless;  the  alfalfa- foxtail 
silage  thus  obtained  is  eaten  by  stock  with  great  relish  and  with- 
out any  injurious  effects.  (Woll.) 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SILAGE  CROPS  FOR  THE  SEMI-ARID  REGIONS 
AND  FOR  THE  SOUTH. 

In  those  parts  of  the  Southwest  including  the  Great  Plains 
region,  where  limited  precipitation,  evaporation  and  temperature 
conditions  combine  to  make  moisture  conservation  the  vital  prob- 
lem, the  silo  is  finding  one  of  its  greatest  fields  of  usefulness. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  when  it  can  be  grown  success- 
fully, corn  is  pre-eminently  the  silage  crop.  In  many  sections, 
however,  corn  does  not  mature  or  make  sufficient  yield,  either  in 
fodder  or  grain,  to  justify  its  use  as  compared  with  other  crops 
well  adapted  to  the  siloing  system,  which  do  not  require  nearly  so 
much  moisture,  and  it  is  of  these  crops  that  we  wish  to  speak  in 
this  chapter.  Stockmen  are  beginning  to  realize  that  they  must 
have  a  permanent  feed  supply,  one  that  will  produce  a  good  yield 
even  under  drouth  conditions,  or  the  live  stock  industry  itself 
cannot  be  permanent,  and  the  haphazard  method  of  depending 
entirely  on  Nature's  offerings  for  the  present  need  is  fast  becom- 
ing obsolete.  With  the  ability  of  Western  Kansas,  for  instance, 
to  produce  crops  such  as  kafir,  milo,  saccharine  sorghum  and  the 
broom  corns,  there  is  no  reason  why  there  should  ever  be  a  short- 
age of  feed  such  as  the  farmers  of  that  section  experienced  in 
the  winter  of  1911-12. 

The  sorghums  are  the  crops  of  first  importance  as  silage  in 
the  regions  where  moisture  is  the  controlling  factor  in  crop  pro- 
duction. The  sweet  sorghums  have  usually  been  considered  a 
poor  substitute  for  corn  in  the  silo,  but  the  conditions  under 
which  they  are  grown  in  regions  of  light  rainfall,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, overcome  the  difficulty  which  is  found  in  other  sections  of 
the  country.  If  they  are  allowed  to  mature  quite  fully  before  they 
are  cut  for  the  silo,  they  do  not  form  an  abnormal  amount  of 
acid  as  they  do  when  cut  too  green,  or  when  grown  under  heavy 
rainfall .  conditions. 

For  convenient  reference  the  matter  that  follows  has  been 
classified  under  various  states,  although  it  should  be  remembered 
that  the  discussion  relative  to  one  state  is  very  often  applicable  to 

160 


CROPS  FOR  KANSAS.  161 

other  sections  where  similar  moisture  and  temperature  conditions 
prevail. 

Kansas. — The  conditions  covered  by  Prof.  Reed  of  the  Kansas 
Experiment  Station  are,  therefore,  representative  of  many  other 
regions: 

"There  is  a  prevailing  opinion  among  many  farmers  and 
users  of  silos  that  the  sweet  sorghum  is  unfit  for  silage,  that  on 
account  of  the  high  sugar  content  there  will  be  a  large  amount7 
of  acid  formed,  and  the  silage  will  be  too  sour  to  feed.  It  is  true 
that  this  plant  does  contain  a  large  amount  of  sugar,  and  the 
silage  will  become  very  sour  if  the  crop  is  put  up  too  green.  In 
most  cases  where  unsatisfactory  results  have  been  obtained  by 
ensiloing  sweet  sorghum,  it  has  been  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
crop  was  put  in  too  green.  Last  year  the  Kansas  Experiment 
Station  obtained  twelve  and  one-half  tons  of  sowed  cane  per 
acre  as  against  five  tons  of  corn  that  was  listed.  These  crops 
were  put  into  the  silo  at  the  proper  time,  and  they  both  made 
good  feed.  Quite  contrary  to  the  general  opinion  and  experience 
it  was  found  that  the  acid  content  of  the  sweet  sorghum  silage 
wras  less  than  that  of  the  corn  silage  at  all  times.  This  silage 
was  fed  to  dairy  cows  and  they  did  not  show  any  preference 
between  the  two  kinds  of  silage.  The  excellent  quality  of  the 
sweet  sorghum  silage  was  accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  it 
was  put  up  at  the  right  time. 

"Sorghum  crops  should  be  almost  mature  when  they  are 
cut  for  silage.  If  cut  too  early  the  stalk  will  contain  entirely  too 
much  juice.  At  the  time  the  seed  hardens,  the  stalk  of  the  sweet 
sorghum  and  kafir  plant  will  be  well  filled  with  sap,  yet  will  not 
contain  an  excess  so  as  to  cause  the  silage  to  sour  in  the  silo." 

Even  the  most  stunted  kafir  can  be  saved  with  the  silo.  At 
the  Kansas  Station,  kafir  that  was  so  stunted  in  its  growth  by 
reason  of  drought  that  it  yielded  only  a  ton  to  the  acre,  with  no 
grain  whatever,  was  made  into  silage  and  was  eaten  readily 
by  the  stock.  It  served  to  furnish  a  succulent  feed,  where  other- 
wise all  of  their  feed  would  have  been  of  a  dry  nature. 

Oklahoma. — James  A.  "Wilson,  director  of  the  Oklahoma  Sta- 
tion, writes  that .  "for  ensilage  purposes  we  have  used  sorghum 
cane  considerably  during  the  past  few  years.  The  nonsaccharine 
sorghums,  such  as  kafir  and  milo,  make  very  excellent  silage.  We 


162  CROPS  FOR  SEMI-ARID  REGIONS. 

have  also  had  good  success  with  the  sugar  cane  or  Ambor  cane. 
"There  is  this  difference,  however,  that  should  be  observed  in 
filling  the  silo  with  the  above  crops,  namely,  that  the  kaflr  corn 
and  milo  maize  should  be  allowed  to  fully  mature,  that  is,  allow- 
ing the  sap  to  carry  the  sugar  up  into  the  stalk  which  is  usually 
done  just  before  the  plant  is  fully  matured.  While  in  the  case 
of  sugar  cane,  we  have  found  it  best  to  cut  this  on  the  green 
side  before  the  maximum  amount  of  sugar  has  been  deposited 
in  the  plant,  otherwise,  we  find  that  sugar  cane  ensilage  sours." 

Bulletin  No.  181  of  the  Oklahoma  Station  says:  "Silos  are 
not  luxuries  but  necessities  in  Oklahoma.  The  silo  does  not 
only  preserve  fodder  in  its  best  form  for  feeding,  but  provides 
the  cheapest  of  feeds  for  cattle  and  sheep.  The  whole  corn  or 
sorghum  crop  be  stored  up — butt,  stalks  and  all — so  that  hardly 
any  is  lost. 

"Silage  is  much  relished  by  stock,  especially  by  cattle  and 
sheep.  It  is  palatable,  cheap  and  succulent,  thins  and  cools  the 
blood,  improves  the  handling  qualities  of  skin  and  hair,  tones 
up  the  digestive  system,  and  improves  the  health  generally. 
Breeding  females  are  put  in  good  condition  for  producing  healthy 
offspring,  and  after  parturition  are  better  able  to  give  plenty  of 
milk  than  when  on  a  dry  ration.  To  a  large  extent  it  is  a  pre- 
ventive of  digestive  troubles,  and  with  dairy  cows  it  lessens  con- 
siderably the  chances  of  milk  fever  and  garget.  The  legumes. 
such  as  alfalfa,  cow  peas,  clover,  soy  beans,  while  they  can  be 
made  into  silage,  are  not  satisfactory  when  mixed  alone,  as  they 
will  not  pack  sufficiently,  but  when  mixed  with  a  good  propor- 
tion of  corn  or  kafir  fodder  make  a  first-class,  well  balanced 
silage." 

Texas. — Sorghum  is  a  sure  crop  in  Texas  and  will  produce 
a  fine  quality  of  ensilage.  Texas  Bulletin  No.  11  says  that  the 
heavy  growing  varieties  such  as  the  Orange  and  African  cane 
are  preferred.  It  is  planted  in  drills  three  feet  six  inches  apart 
and  cultivated.  If  it  is  planted  early,  two  good  crops  can  be 
secured  in  one  season  on  the  same  ground  if  the  stubble  is 
cultivated  after  the  first  crop  is  cut  off.  This  crop  should  also 
be  allowed  to  mature  until  the  seed  are  hard. 

An  authority  on  silage  conditions  in  Texas,  connected  with 
the  Frisco  Railroad  System,  writes  that  "Sorghum  is  the  most 


OKLAHOMA  AND  TEXAS  CROPS.          163 

valuable  plant  that  we  have  for  silage.  For  this  purpose  it  is,  of 
course,  grown  in  drills  or  rows,  in  the  same  way  that  corn  is 
grown.  It  does  not  make  quite  as  good  grade  of  silage  as  corn, 
but  it  makes  so  much  more  to  the  acre  that  it  is  preferable.  We 
frequently  get  two  cuttings  to  the  season,  but  if  we  get  only  one, 
the  yield  is  so  much  more  than  the  corn  that  any  difference 
in  nutritive  value  is  overcome.  Some  farmers  practice  mixing 
sorghum  and  corn,  but  I  do  not  think  this  is  desirable  in  the 
South.  Cow  pea  vines  and  sorghum  would  make  a  most  excellent 
mixture  for  silage  purposes,  except  the  pea  vines  have  a  disad- 
vantage of  -  being  difficult  to  handle;  but  the  sorghum  being  rich 
in  carbohydrates  and  the  pea  vines  rich  in  protein  matter,  the 
mixture,  as  you  will  readily  see,  is  an  exceedingly  good  one. 

"I  receive  letters  sometimes  from  parties  who  seem  to  have 
a  doubt  as  to  whether  silage  can  be  made  successfully  in  this 
climate,  but  there  is  no  part  of  Texas  in  which  it  is  not  an  entire 
success,  and  silos  ought  to  be  constructed  and  used  much  more 
widely  than  they  are  in  this  State.  Sorghum  silage  is  eaten 
readily  by  horses  and  mules  of  the  farm,  as  well  as  by  cattle, 
and  it  can  be  made  to  form  an  important  part  of  the  ration  of 
the  farm  work  stock,  as  well  as  the  stock  intended  for  the  butcher, 
including  hogs." 

Texas  Station  Bulletin  No.  11  says  that  the  crops  most  de- 
sirable for  the  silo  in  Texas  are  corn,  sorghum,  cow  peas,  alfalfa 
and  ribbon  cane  tops.  Indian  corn  is  the  crop  most  generally 
used  for  the  silo  in  that  state.  Sorghum,  kafir  and  milo  are  also 
used  extensively.  Prof.  Burns  says  that  these  four  crops  are 
sometimes  planted  in  rows  together,  the  result  being  a  mixed 
silage  of  high  quality.  Kafir  and  milo  are  chiefly  used  in  the 
semi-arid  sections  of  the  state  where  Indian  corn  does  not  thrive 
well.  "All  crops  planted  especially  for  the  silo  should  be  grown 
a  little  more  thickly  than  when  planted  to  harvest  in  the  ordinary 
way,  and  they  should  become  very  well  matured  before  being  cut. 
Experience  indicates  that  the  best  results  are  secured  from 
corn  and  sorghum  just  as  the  grain  begins  to  harden.  The 
other  crops  will  make  a  good  ensilage  at  the  same  time  they 
would  be  cut  for  hay.  Combinations  of  corn  and  cow  peas  or 
sorghum  and  cow  peas  planted  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same 
row  make  splendid  ensilage  and  supply  a  nearly  balanced  ration 
with  which  very  little  grain  is  needed." 


164  CROPS  FOR  SEMI-ARID  REGIONS. 

New  Mexico. — Prof.  Simpson  of  the  New  Mexico  Station  writes 
regarding  silage  crops  in  that  state  as  follows:  "Just  as  corn  is 
used  for  the  leading  crop  in  the  Corn  Belt  states,  nonsaccharine 
sorghums,  as  kafir  corn  and  milo,  are  used  in  this  country.  They 
are  much  more  successfully  grown  here  than  corn,  as  they  with- 
stand the  drought  better  and  are  not  bothered  by  the  worms. 
Kafir  corn  and  milo  silage  has  been  proven  to  be  very  good  in 
feeding  value;  and  especially  is  this  true  in  New  Mexico,  as  the 
larger  part  of  the  feeds  which  must  be  used  with  silage  are  of 
a  nitrogenous  character.  Alfalfa  is  our  leading  hay  crop,  and 
bran,  cottonseed  meal,  wheat,  oats,  kafir  and  milo  are  the  prin- 
cipal grains  used  in  feeding.  Of  course,  we  have  practically  two 
conditions  in  New  Mexico  that  are  absolutely  opposite;  the  irri- 
gated sections  and  the  dry-farming  sections.  In  the  irrigated 
valleys  kafir  corn  and  milo  grown  for  silage  make  a  very  heavy 
yield  and  will  undoubtedly  stand  first  for  silage  crops.  In  the 
dry-farming  sections  the  same  two  crops  prevail,  as  more  suc- 
cess comes  from  them  than  any  other  crops.  I  have  been  over  a 
great  deal  of  the  dry-farming  country  in  the  last  two  weeks 
(October,  1912),  and  in  most  sections  they  have  a  very  good 
crop  of  kafir  and  milo  this  year.  The  tonnage  will  be  heavy 
wherever  it  is  used  for  silage.  However,  I  am  afraid  that  there 
is  going  to  be  a  great  deal  wasted  feed  in  those  sections,  because 
of  the  fact  that  they  have  few  silos.  Some  of  the  people  are 
putting  their  crops  in  silos,  but  others  are  simply  growing  it  as 
fodder.  If  we  could  get  a  large  percentage  of  the  crops  raised 
in  the  dry-farming  sections  this  year  into  silos  and  fed  to  stock, 
especially  dairy  cattle,  I  conscientiously  believe  that  it  would 
mean  a  great  advantage  in  the  settling  up  and  improving  of  the 
country.  Most  of  the  silos  in  the  dry-farming  country  are  noth- 
ing more  than  underground  types,  but  they  serve  the  purpose  very 
well  where  the  person  has  no  money  to  put  up  another  kind. 

"We  have  a  great  variety  of  crops,  both  in  the  irrigated  and 
the  dry-farming  section,  which  make  fairly  good  silage,  and  by 
utilizing  them  a  great  saving  will  be  accomplished.  Of  course, 
there  is  no  advantage  in  putting  alfalfa  into  the  silo,  if  it  can 
be  made  into  first-class  hay.  However,  oftentimes  when  it  is 
time  for  the  second  or  third  cut,  our  rains  are  so  persistent  that 
it  is  impossible  to  get  it  into  first-class  hay.  This  can  still  be 
made  into  good  feed  by  making  into  silage,  and  the  farmers  will 


NEW  MEXICO  AND  ARIZONA  CROPS.  165 

be  able  to  utilize  the  full  value  of  it.  Some  report  that  they  have 
had  very  good  success  by  putting  barley,  wheat,  or  rye  crops  into 
the  silo  and  cutting  them  a  little  green.  However,  as  the  stalks 
contain  so  much  air,  they  must  be  carefully  tramped  and  wet 
down  to  keep,  and  do  not  make  first-class  silage,  although  they 
are  good. 

"In  sections  where  sugar  beets  are  grown,  the  tops  are  put 
into  the  silo  with  good  success,  with  not  only  a  large  saving 
made  on  the  crop,  but  they  make  excellent  silage. 

"Cow  peas  and  soy  beans  are  grown  in  some  localities  very 
successfully,  and  they  make  first-class  silage.  Sorghum  is  an- 
other crop  which  makes  very  good  silage,  if  allowed  to  mature 
fairly  well.  It  grows  abundantly,  both  in  the  irrigated  and  the 
dry-farming  sections  and  yields  heavily. 

"While  there  are  a  few  other  crops  which  undoubtedly  will 
prove  to  be  good  for  silage,  they  have  not  yet  been  tried  out.  We 
have  a  great  many  grasses  which,  some  of  them,  may  prove  valua- 
ble for  silage." 

Arizona,  Colorado,  etc. — A.  E.  Vinson  of  the  Arizona  Station 
says  that:  "In  certain  sections  of  the  semi-arid  countries  where 
dry-farming  can  be  practiced  or  flood-water  utilized  in  growing 
corn  and  sorghum,  the  silo  will  probably  be  found  to  enable  the 
feeder  to  use  more  advantageously  the  natural  pastures,  which 
during  part  of  the  year  produce  more  than  enough  forage  for  the 
herds  and  flocks  that  can  be  permanently  maintained  upon  them. 

"The  advantages  to  be  anticipated  from  silos  in  Arizona  are 
several.  A  supply 'of  succulent  feed  could  be  kept  available  for 
the  short  winter  period  of  poor  pasture  and  again  for  the  long 
period  of  summer  drouth.  This  is  especially  important  where 
dairying  is  practiced,  and  when  there  is  a  scant  supply  of  irri- 
gating water  for  the  pastures  in  late  spring  and  early  summer. 
In  some  localities  it  might  be  possible  to  grow  fodder  corn  or 
sorghum  with  the  summer  rains.  This  forage  could  be  siloed 
and  fed  to  range  stock  during  the  drouth  of  the  next  year  or  used 
to  fatten  them  for  the  market.  It  has  been  found  that  as  much 
as  three  and  one-quarter  tons  per  acre  of  sorghum  can  be 
produced  by  dry-farming  methods  in  some  parts  of  Arizona.  This 
could  be  preserved  as  ensilage  in  succulent  condition  until 
needed." 


166  CROPS  FOR  SEMI-ARID  REGIONS. 

Beet  leaves  and  tops  may  be  utilized  to  good  advantage  in 
Colorado,  Arizona  and  other  sections  by  means  of  the  silo.  They 
should  be  washed  free  of  dirt  and  sand,  well  drained  and  some- 
what dry.  The  writer  quoted  above  says  that  "this  material 
sometimes  contains  as  much  as  3y2  per  cent  of  oxalic  acid  in  the 
dry  substance,  of  which  one-half  or  more  may  be  soluble  in  water. 
Oxalic  acid  has  the  property  of  withdrawing  lime  from  other 
substances,  with  which  it  forms  an  insoluble  oxalate.  For  that 
reason  it  is  best  not  to  feed  beet  leaves  or  beet  leaf  ensilage  to 
growing  stock  since  it  is  apt  to  produce  unduly  soft  bones  by 
rendering  insoluble  the  lime  necessary  for  their  nutrition.  Even 
for  mature  animals  the  oxalic  acid  should  be  rendered  harmless 
by  adding  one  or  two  pounds  of  slaked  lime  per  ton  of  leaves 
and  tops  when  they  are  siloed.  Since  beet  leaf  ensilage  has 
marked  laxative  properties,  it  must  be  combined  with  a  liberal 
amount  of  straw  or  other  dry  forage.  It  is  best  adapted  for 
feeding  steers,  but  may  also  be  given  to  sheep.  Dairy  cows  are 
said  to  prosper  on  it,  provided  it  does  not  exceed  one-third  of  the 
total  ration." 

At  the  Colorado  Station,  nine  feet  of  beet  tops  were  placed  in 
a  12x50  foot  silo,  after  being  run  through  a  silage  cutter.  The 
tops  had  been  frozen  and  were  not  in  good  condition,  but  they 
came  out  in  the  same  condition  as  when  put  in.  "Twenty-five 
pounds  of  the  beet  top  silage  was  offered  each  cow  of  the  dairy 
herd  in  place  of  the  twenty-five  pounds  of  sugar  beet  previously 
fed,  the  balance  of  the  ration  remaining  constant.  They  ate  the 
tops  rather  reluctantly,  some  of  them  finally  consuming  their 
entire  allowance,  others  never  doing  so.  That  the  tops  had  a 
greater  laxative  effect  than  corn  silage  was  apparent  when  a 
change  to  the  latter  was  made."  Beet  pulp  is  siloed  to  some  ex- 
tent. A  high  silo  used  for  this  purpose  "should  be  provided  with 
special  drainage  for  carrying  away  the  large  quantity  of  water 
given  off  by  the  pulp.  (See  also  page  156.) 

"There  are  a  great  many  Russian  thistles  all  over  the  dry- 
farming  sections,  and  these  are  becoming  a  great*pest,"  says  Prof. 
Simpson.  "There  have  been  a  few  endeavors  to  make  silage  from 
them,  and  with  a  fair  degree  of  success.  *  *  *  Of  course,  we 
do  not  advocate  planting  thistles  for  silage,  but  it  makes  a  good 
maintenance  ration  when  made  into  silage,  and  this  is  one  of  the 


)  ARIZONA  AND  COLORADO.  167 

best  methods  of  eradicating  the  pest,  because  the  plants  are  not 
allowed  to  go  to  seed." 

The  Russian  thistle  -when  young  and  tender  is  relished  by  cat- 
tle, but  "as  it  reaches  maturity  and  its  feeding  value  becomes 
greater  its  hardening  needles  cause  it  to  be  avoided  by  stock.  In 
the  process  of  siloing,  the  needles  are  softened  and  the  plant  is 
again  rendered  palatable.  The  plants  are  very  bulky  in  propor- 
tion to  the  substance  which  they  contain,  and  apparently  large 
quantities  of  them  will  be  reduced  to  small  bulk  in  the  silo.  The 
entire  plant  should  be  pulled  to  avoid  waste  in  harvest.  Unless 
finely  cut,  the  thistles  cannot  be  packed  in  the  silo  sufficiently 
to  exclude  air  and  prevent  spoilage."*  M.  B.  Hassig,  Cope,  Col- 
orado, who  siloed  several  tons  of  Russian  thistles,  states:  "I  had 
twelve  feet  of  silage  made  of  Russian  thistles  on  top  of  corn 
silage.  I  covered  this  with  dirt,  but  not  as  much  as  I  shall  after 
this,  as  the  air  penetrated  the  earth  and  spoiled  about  two  feet 
of  the  silage.  The  balance  was  well  preserved  and  relished  by 
the  cattle." 

He  adds  that  after  the  thistle  silage  was  exhausted  the  cattle 
consumed  the  corn  silage  with  greater  relish. 

Corn  is  the  preferable  silage  crop  for  all  sections  of  Colorado 
in  which  it  will  equal  other  fodders  in  yield.  Colorado  Bulletin 
No.  8  recommends  for  the  irrigated  sections  the  following  varie- 
ties: Iowa  Silver  Mine,  Iowa  Gold  Mine,  Improved  Learning, 
Pride  of  the  North,  Colorado  Yellow  Dent,  and  Ratekin's  Yellow 
Dent,  and  for  the  unirrigated  districts,  the  White  Australian. 
Squaw  corn,  Parson's  High  Altitude  corn,  Colorado  Yellow  Dent 
and  Colorado  White  Dent. 

Owing  to  the  good  quality  of  alfalfa  hay,  the  abundance  of  root 
crops  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  good  yields  of  corn,  the  silo 
is  not  used  to  any  great  extent  in  Utah,  although  some  experi- 
mental work  along  this  line  is  planned  by  the  Station  at  Logan 
in  the  near  future. 

Alfalfa  and  cow  peas,  already  discussed  in  Chapter  VII,  are 
not  usually  made  into  silage,  except  as  they  are  mixed  with  corn 
or  sorghum.  If  siloed  alone,  they  should  be  very  well  matured 
and  thoroughly  packed.  Mixed  in  proportion  of  one  part  cow  peas 


*Colorado  Bulletin  No.   8. 


168  CROPS  FOR  SEMI-ARID  REGIONS. 

and  three  or  four  parts  of  corn  or  sorghum,  they  keep  better 
and  make  a  more  balanced  feed  than  the  corn  or  sorghum  alone. 
The  cow  peas  may  be  planted  in  the  same  row  with  these  crops 
and  gathered  with  a  harvester  or  they  may  be  planted  alone  and 
mowed.  In  the  latter  case  they  should  be  mixed  by  placing  the 
cow  peas  or  alfalfa  on  top  of  the  corn  while  entering  the  silage 
cutter.  The  cow  peas  may  be  foiked  from  an  extra  wagon,  in  any 
desired  proportion,  usually  one  part  to  two,  three  or  four  parts 
of  corn  or  sorghum.  Prof.  Reed  says  that  "it  is  very  desirable 
to  put  in  the  first  crop  of  alfalfa  in  case  it  get  rained  on,  but  if 
alfalfa  can  be  put  up  for  hay  it  will  be  worth  more  in  that  form 
than  in  silage.  Alfalfa  hay  has  a  market  value  and  there  is  a 
growing  demand  for  same,  and  since  the  crops  such  as  kafir, 
sweet  sorghum,  and  corn  fodder  have  no  market  value,  they 
should  best  be  made  into  silage  instead.  Alfalfa  hay  when  put 
in  the  silo  alone  will  not  keep  for  a  great  length  of  time.  The 
exact  reason  for  this  has  not  been  determined.  Alfalfa  silage 
that  was  in  the  silo  for  two  years  at  the  Kansas  State  Agri- 
cultural College,  became  very  dark,  and  when  it  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  air  had  a  very  offensive  odor.  Cattle  would  eat  a 
little  of  it,  but  not  enough  to  count  it  as  a  good  feed.  If  it  be- 
comts  necessary  to  put  the  first  crop  of  alfalfa  in  the  silo,  ar- 
rangements should  be  made  to  feed  it  out  within  a  few  months 
after  it  is  put  up." 

The  Canada  field  pea,  so  extensively  grown  in  the  San  Luis 
Valley  of  Colorado  and  in  other  sections  of  the  southwest,  shows 
an  analysis  only  slightly  less  than  the  cow  pea,  and  it  exceeds 
corn  silage  in  -ichness.  The  field  pea,  like  alfalfa,  should  be 
siloed  when  mature  enough  for  hay,  and  should  be  finely  cut  and 
thoroughly  packed  in  the  silo. 

The  Spineless  Cactus  in  the  warrr  arid  regions  of  the  South- 
west is  capable  of  very  large  yields.  It  is  claimed  that  the  leaves 
or  slabs  as  a  fodder  make  superior  beef  and  they  are  a  good 
food  for  milch  cows;  the  cactus  is  very  rich  in  sodium,  potash 
and  magnesia,  the  principal  salts  found  in  milk.  It  is  a  green, 
fresh  and  delicious  stock  food  throughout  the  entire  year.  For 
best  results,  it  should  be  run  through  a  feed  cutter.  Mr.  Luther 
Bui-bank  used  an  "Ohio"  cutter  in  demonstrating  this  cactus  at 
the  California  State  Fair  recently. 


WASHINGTON  CROPS.  169 

The  prickly  pear,  both  spiny  and  thornless,  are  grown  along 
the  coast  and  interior  valleys  of  California  and  in  the  warmer 
parts  of  Arizona  and  southern  Texas.  As  with  cactus,  best  feed- 
ing results  are  produced  by  running  through  a  feed  cutter  and 
fed  in  combination  with  dry  roughage. 

Mr.  David  Griffiths,  Government  Agriculturist  at  Washington, 
says:  "A  number  of  attempts  have  been  made  to  make  silage 
of  prickly  pear,  but  so  far  as  I  am  aware  none  of  them  have  been 
entirely  successful.  The  material  is  very  succulent  and  can  be 
fed  in  the  green,  succulent  state  any  day  of  the  year,  and  the 
necessity  of  making  it  into  silage  is  not  the  same  as  that  for 
ordinary  crops  which  perish  at  the  close  of  the  season.  It  is  a 
warm  country  crop  and  can  be  fed  at  any  time  of  the  year  without 
making  it  into  silage." 

In  Washington,  says  Prof.  Nystrom  of  the  Pullman  Station, 
"while  corn  is  the  best  crop,  we  have  been  getting  good  success 
by  using  peas  and  oats,  vetch  and  oats,  barley  and  peas  and 
clover.  In  some  localities  also  alfalfa  has  been  put  in  whole,  and 
good  silage  has  resulted.  We  advocate  the  use  of  the  corn 
wherever  it  will  grow;  a  large  part  of  this  state  is  not  fitted  for 
the  growing  of  corn,  but  will  grow  Canada  field  peas  and  oats. 
In  such  localities  we  advocate  this  crop  for  the  silo.  Most  of  the 
crops  that  are  used  in  a  silo  have  been  cut  up,  that  is,  run  through 
an  ensilage  cutter,  and  good  silage  has  resulted."  Alfalfa,  kale, 
corn  and  clover,  barley  and  vetch,  and  clover  and  rye  grass  are 
other  crops  mentioned  in  Bulletin  No.  46  from  the  Pullman  Sta- 
tion, as  being  used  in  that  state. 


Silage  Crops  in  the  South. 


Japanese  cane  has  been  found  best  adapted  for  growing 
throughout  Florida,  Louisiana  and  the  southern  parts  of  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Mississippi  and  Texas,  or  in  any  sections  in  which  the 
velvet  bean  will  mature  seed.  This  will  be  up  to  200  or  250 
miles  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Japanese  cane  makes  a  good  silage.  It  keeps  well  and  is 
relished  by  cattle.  It  has  been  used  in  feeding  experiments  with 
the  dairy  herd  at  the  Florida  station  with  quite  satisfactory  re- 
sults. The  cost  of  silage  from  this  crop  should  not  exceed 


170  SILAGE  CROPS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

$1.75  or  $2.00  per  ton.  It  is  rich  in  carbohydrates,  but  poor  in 
protein,  and  care  should,  therefore,  be  taken  to  balance  the  ration 
when  feeding. 

Prof.  Scott  of  the  Florida  Station  at  Gainesville,  says:  "Per- 
haps the  best  silage  crop  that  we  grow  here  in  Florida  is  the 
Japanese  cane.  This  produces  a  heavier  tonnage  per  acre  than 
any  other  crop  that  we  can  grow  and  at  the  same  time  is  prac- 
tically double  that  which  can  be  secured  from  sorghum  or  corn. 
Then,  too,  Japanese  cane  is  a  much  cheaper  crop  to  produce 
than  sorghum  or  corn,  due  to  the  fact  that  one  planting  of  cane 
will  last  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  while  sorghum  or  corn  must 
be  planted  every  year.  *  *  *  The  Japanese  cane  stalks  should 
be  well  matured  before  being  harvested,  and  this  is  not  likely  to 
occur  until  early  in  November.  If  Japanese  cane  is  cut  and  put 
in  the  silo  during  September,  very  unsatisfactory  results  are  likely 
to  occur,  and  what  silage  may  be  saved  will  be  of  very  poor 
quality,  due  to  the  fact  that  at  this  time  of  the  year  there  is  very 
little  feeding  value  in  the  Japanese  cane,  since  the  formation 
of  sugar  does  not  take  place  until  the  crop  begins  to  mature,  and 
the  nearer  we  can  let  it  stand  in  the  field  until  frost,  the  higher 
the  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  stalks. 

"A  great  many  have  been  disappointed  in  using  sorghum  for 
silage.  However,  I  believe  that  95  per  cent  of  the  failures  with 
sorghum  silage  has  been  due  to  the  fact  that  the  sorghum 
was  put  in  the  silo  before  it  was  fully  matured.  To  make  good 
silage  the  sorghum  must  be  fully  matured,  that  is,  the  seed 
should  be  in  the  hard  dough  stage. 

"Without  question  sorghum  makes  good  silage.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  it  is  as  good  as  corn,  ton  for  ton.  Whether  one  should 
grow  sorghum  or  corn  for  silage  will  depend  somewhat  on  local 
conditions.  Our  soil  conditions  vary  in  all  sections  of  the  state. 
Some  of  our  soils  are  not  the  best  for  the  growing  of  heavy  crops 
of  corn.  On  this  class  of  land  sorghum  produces  a  much  heavier 
tonnage  per  acre.  Therefore  it  is  advisable  to  grow  sorghum.  On 
the  better  corn  lands  it  is  just  possible  that  as  heavy  crops  of 
corn  can  be  produced.  Where  it  is  possible  to  grow  a  heavier 
tonnage  of  corn  per  acre  it  will  no  doubt  be  the  better  crop  to 
grow." 

Prof.   Milton   P.    Jarnagin    of   the   Georgia   Agricultural    College 


SILAGE   CROPS  IN  THE   SOUTH.  171 

writes  us  as  follows:  "For  a  number  of  reasons  the  production 
of  silage  is  one  of  the  most  important  phases  of  stock  husbandry 
in  the  South.  There  has  been  an  ill-founded  opinion  that  since 
there  is  such  a  long-  growing  season  in  the  cotton  section,  silage  is 
not  of  so  much  importance  as  in  some  of  the  northern  sections. 
From  experimental  work  we  believe  that  it  is  impossible  to  pro- 
duce 100  pounds  of  beef  or  a  gallon  of  milk  as  economically 
without  silage  as  can  be  done  with  it. 

"Alternate  rows  of  sorghum  and  corn  will  give  us  from  three 
to  five  tons  of  silage  per  acre  depending  on  the  quality  of  the 
land,  more  than  can  be  secured  from  corn  alone.  We  believe  that 
sorghum  and  corn  silage  is  equal  to  corn  silage  alone,  though  it 
is  vastly  superior  to  all  sorghum  silage.  Aside  from  the  increased 
tonnage,  sorghum  is  much  more  drought  resistant  than  corn. 
Even  in  extremely  dry  weather,  we  have  never  failed  to  get  a 
fairly  satisfactory  yield  of  silage  where  sorghum  constituted  one- 
half  of  the  crop.  In  addition  to  this,  the  sorghum  carries  con- 
siderable juice  so  that  we  are  able  to  allow  the  corn  to  stand 
until  it  has  developed  the  maximum  amount  of  nutrients  before 
harvesting.  The  sorghum  then  gathers  sufficient  moisture  and 
•weight  to  insure  good  packing  and  keeping. 

"We  have  gotten  better  results  from  the  use  of  Red  Head 
sorghum  than  any  of  the  other  varieties.  It  has  a  thick,  heavy 
stalk,  with  heavy  foliage,  and  at  the  same  time  it  has  the  ability 
to  stand  up  better  than  most  other  varieties.  Any  heavy  stalk 
and  vigorous  growing  variety  of  corn  is  satisfactory.  During  the 
past  two  years  we  have  gotten  better  results  from  Cocke's  Prolific 
than  from  Virginia  ensilage  corn  on  the  College  Farm." 

For  Alabama,  Mr.  S.  I.  Bechdel,  dairyman  at  the  Experiment 
Station  at  Auburn,  recommends  the  use  of  a  good  prolific  corn  in 
connection  with  pea-vines  or  soy  beans,  although  sorghum  is  now 
used  to  a  considerable  extent  throughout  the  state.  Some  of  the 
farmers  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  are  enthusiastic  over 
the  use  of  sorghum  as  a  silage  crop  because  it  enables  them  to 
get  some  other  crop  off  earlier  in  the  spring  and  get  sorghum 
in  in  time  to  make  silage  before  frost. 

Corn  and  sorghum  in  about  equal  parts  are  recommended  in 
Louisiana  for  good  silage.  Planting  corn  or  sorghum  during  the 
latter  half  of  June  on  land  from  which  oats  or  other  crops  have 


172  SILAGE  CROPS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

already  been   taken   will  produce  from  5  to   15   tons  an  acre   for 
the  silo. 

Sugar  cane  tops  and  green  leaves  made  excellent  silage  at 
the  Baton  Rouge  Station  according  to  Bulletin  No.  143.  Analysis 
showed  that  a  ton  of  cane  top  silage  carries  the  equivalent  of 
more  feed  units  (protein,  fat  and  carbohydrate)  than  5y2  bushels 
of  corn.  Out  of  an  18  ton  yield  from  an  acre,  hauled  to  the  mill, 
about  six  tons  would  be  tops  and  leaves.  Four  tons  of  this  would 
be  suitable  for  silage,  with  feed  units  equal  to  22  bushels  of  corn. 
The  gain  in  making  silage  of  this  is  very  evident.  Furthermore, 
this  four  tons  of  tops  and  leaves,  if  burned,  would  destroy  $3.75 
worth  of  nitrogen,  whereas  if  siloed  and  fed  to  live  stock  a  large 
part  of  it  would  go  back  to  the  soil. 

Prof.  Staples,  of  the  Experiment  Station  at  Baton  Rouge, 
writes  regarding  Louisiana  conditions  as  follows:  "The  best  and 
most  profitable  crops  that  we  can  grow  in  this  state  for  silage 
are  corn,  soy  beans,  peas  and  sorghum.  The  corn  and  soy  beans 
make  the  best  combination,  as  the  corn  is  rather  dry  at  some 
seasons  and  the  soy  beans  being  rather  too  moist  supply  the 
necessary  amount  of  moisture  to  make  the  corn  and  beans  to- 
gether a  most  excellent  combination  of  feed-stuffs  for  filling  the 
silo. 

"The  peas  are  also  very  good  for  combination  with  the  corn, 
but  are  somewhat  troublesome  to  handle  on  account  of  the  vines 
entangling  around  the  corn  stalk  and  making  it  very  hard  to 
handle,  both  by  the  binder  when  cutting  and  by  the  man  hauling 
and  feeding  the  silage  cutter.  Sorghum  is  very  good  feed  when 
used  as  silage,  but  does  not  contain  as  large  a  per  cent  of  feeding 
nutrients  as  the  above  mentioned  crops." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 
Filling  the  Silo. 

A.  Indian  Corn. — As  previously  stated,  corn  should  be  left  in 
the  field  before  cutting  until  it  has  passed  through  the  dough 
stage,  i.  e.,  when  the  kernels  are  well  dented  or  glazed,  in  case 
of  flint  varieties.  Where  very  large  silos  are  filled-  and  in  cases 
of  extreme  dry  weather  when  the  corn  is  fast  drying  up,  it  will 
be  well  to  begin  filling  the  silo  a  little  before  it  has  reached  this 
stage,  as  the  greater  portion  of  the  corn  would  otherwise  be  apt 
to  be  too  dry.  There  is,  however,  less  danger  in  this  respect 
now  than  formerly,  on  account  of  our  modern  deep  silos,  and  be- 
cause we  have  found  that  water  applied  directly  to  the  fodder  in 
the  silo  acts  in  the  same  way  as  water  in  the  fodder,  and  keeps 
the  fermentations  in  the  silo  in  check  and  in  the  right  track. 

Cutting  the  Corn  in  the  Field. — The  cutting  of  corn  for  the 
silo  is  usually  on  small  farms  done  by  hand  by  means  of  a  corn 
knife.  Many  farmers  have  been  using  self-raking  and  binding 
corn  harvesters  for  this  purpose,  while  others  report  good  success 
with  a  sled  or  platform  cutter.  If  the  corn  stands  up  well,  and 
is  not  of  a  very  large  variety,  the  end  sought  may  be  reached  in 
a  satisfactory  manner  by  either  of  these  methods.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  much  of  the  corn  is  down,  hand  cutting  is  to  be 
preferred.  A  number  of  different  makes  of  corn  harvesters  and 
corn  cutters  are  now  on  the  market;  and  it  is  very  likely  that 
hand-cutting  of  fodder  corn  will  be  largely  done  away  with  in 
years  to  come,  at  least  on  large  farms,  indeed,  it  looks  as  if  the 
day  of  the  corn  knife  was  passing  away,  and  as  if  this  implement 
will  soon  be  relegated  to  obscurity  with  the  sickle  of  our  fathers' 
time. 

If  a  corn  harvester  is  used,  it  will  be  found  to  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  have  the  bundles  made  what  seems  rather  small.  It 
will  take  a  little  more  twine,  but  the  loaders,  the  haulers,  the 
unloaders,  and  even  the  Silage  Cutter  itself  will  handle  much  more 
corn  in  a  day  if  the  bundles  are  small  and  light,  and  it  will  be 
found  to  be  economy  to  see  that  this  is  done. 

173 


174  HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 

Corn  cutters  have  been  made  by  various  manufacturers  of 
late  years  and  have  proved  quite  satisfactory,  althoug-h  they  re- 
quire more  hand  labor  than  the  corn  harvesters  and  do  not  leave 
the  corn  tied  up  and  in  as  convenient  shape  for  loading  on  the 
wagons  as  these  do.  It  is  also  necessary  to  use  care  with  the 
sledge  type  of  corn  cutter,  as  numerous  cases  are  on  record  where 
both  men  and  horses  have  been  injured  by  getting  in  front  of 
the  knives,  which  project  from  the  sides. 


Fig.  52. — Low-down  rack  for  hauling  fodder  corn. 


A  low  down  rack  for  hauling  corn  from  the  field  is  shown  in 
the  accompanying  illustration  (Fig.  52).  It  has  been  used  for 
some  years  past  at  the  Wisconsin  Station,  and  is  a  great  con- 
venience in  handling  corn,  saving  both  labor  and  time.  These 
racks  not  only  dispense  with  a  man  upon  the  wagon  when 
loading,  but  they  materially  lessen  the  labor  of  the  man  who 
takes  the  corn  from  the  ground,  for  it  is  only  the  top  of  the  load 
which  needs  to  be  raised  shoulder-high;  again,  when  it  comes  to 
unloading,  the  man  can  stand  on  the  floor  or  ground  and  simply 
draw  the  corn  toward  him  and  lay  it  upon  the  table  of  the 
cutter,  without  stooping  over  and  without  raising  the  corn  up  to 
again  throw  it  down.  A  plank  that  can  easily  be  hitched  on 
behind  the  truck  will  prove  convenient  for  loading,  so  that  the 
loader  can  pick  up  his  armful  and,  walking  up  the  plank,  can 
drop  it  without  much  exertion. 

If  wilted  fodder  corn  is  to  be  siloed  it  should  be  shocked  in 
the  field  to  protect  it  as  much  as  possible  from  rain  before  haul- 
ing it  to  the  cutter. 


"EARS  AND  ALL."  175 


Siloing  Corn,  "Ears  and  All." 

The  best  practice  in  putting  corn  into  the  silo  is  to  silo  the 
corn  plant,  "ears  and  all,"  without  previously  husking-  it.  If  the 
ear  corn  is  not  needed  for  hogs  and  horses  or  for  seed  purposes, 
this  practice  is  in  the  line  of  economy,  as  it  saves  the  expense  of 
husking,  cribbing,  shelling  and  grinding  the  ear  corn.  The  possi- 
ble loss  of  food  materials  sustained  in  siloing  the  ear  corn  speaks 
against  the  practice,  but  this  is  very  small,  and  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  advantages  gained  by  this  method  of  pro- 
cedure. In  proof  of  this  statement  we  will  refer  to  an  extended 
feeding  trial  with  milch  cows,  conducted  by  Professor  Woll  at 
the  Wisconsin  Station  in  1891. 

Corresponding  rows  of  a  large  corn  field  were  siloed,  "ears 
and  all,"  and  without  ears,  the  ears  belonging  to  the  latter  lot 
being  carefully  saved  and  air-dried.  The  total  yield  of  silage 
"with  ears  in  it  (whole-corn  silage)  was  59,495  pounds;  of  silage 
without  ears  (stover  silage)  34,496  pounds,  and  of  ear  corn,  10,511 
pounds.  The  dry  matter  content  of  the  lots  obtained  by  the  two 
methods  of  treatment  was,  in  whole-corn  silage,  19,950  pounds; 
in  stover  silage,  9,484  pounds,  and  in  ear  corn,  9,122  pounds,  or 
18,606  pounds  of  dry  matter  in  the  stover  silage  and  ear  corn 
combined.  This  shows  a  loss  of  1,344  pounds  of  dry  matter,  or 
nearly  7  per  cent,  sustained  by  handling  the  fodder  and  ear  corn 
separately  instead  of  siloing  the  corn  "ears  and  all." 

In  feeding  the  two  kinds  of  silage  against  each  other,  adding 
the  dry  earn  corn  to  the  stover  silage,  it  was  found  that  seven- 
teen tons  of  whole-corn  silage  fed  to  sixteen  cows  produced  some- 
what better  results  than  fourteen  tons  of  stover  silage,  and  more 
than  two  tons  of  dry  ear  corn,  both  kinds  of  silage  having  been 
supplemented  by  the  same  quantities  of  hay  and  grain  feed.  The 
yield  of  milk  from  the  cows  was  4  per  cent  higher  on  the  whole 
corn  silage  ration  than  on  the  stover  silage  ration,  and  the  yield 
of  fat  was  6.9  per  cent  higher  on  the  same  ration.  It  would  seem 
then  that  the  cheapest  and  best  way  of  preserving  the  corn  crop 
for  feeding  purposes,  at  least  in  case  of  milch  cows,  is  to  fill  it 
directly  into  the  silo;  the  greater  portion  of  the  corn  may  be  cut 
and  siloed  when  the  corn  is  in  the  roasting-ear  stage,  and  the 
corn  plat  which  is  to  furnish  ear  corn  may  be  left  in  the  field 


176 


HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 


until  the  corn  is  fully  matured,  when  it  may  be  husked,  and  the 
stalks  and  leaves  may  be  filled  into  the  silo  on  top  of  the  corn 
siloed  "ears  and  all."  This  will  then  need  some  heavy  weighting 
or  one  or  two  applications  of  water  on  top  of  the  corn,  to  insure 
a  good  quality  of  silage  from  the  dry  stalks.  (See  pages  175 
and  185.) 

An  experiment  similar  to  the  preceding  one,  conducted  at  the 
Vermont  Station,  in  which  the  product  from  six  acres  of  land 
was  fed  to  dairy  cows,  gave  similar  results.  We  are  justified  in 
concluding,  therefore,  that  husking,  shelling,  and  grinding  the  corn 
(processes  that  may  cost  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  market 
value  of  the  meal)  are  labor  and  expense  more  than  wasted,  since 
the  cows  do  better  on  the  corn  siloed  "ears  and  all"  than  on  that 
siloed  after  the  ears  were  picked  off  and  fed  ground  with  it. 

Table  XIII.— Yield  of  Digestible  Matter  in  Corn. 


CONSTITUENT 

YIELD  PER  ACRE 

Ears 

Stover 

Total  Crop 

Protein                      

Pounds. 
244 
2,301 
125 

Pounds. 
83 
1,473 
22 

Pounds. 
327 
3,774 
147 

Carbohydrates                         .      .  . 

Fat  

Total         

2,670 

1,578 

4,248 

The  difference  in  the  feeding  value  of  the  corn  plant  when 
siloed  with  and  without  ears  is  well  illustrated  in  Table  XIII.  pre- 
sented by  the  Pennsylvania  State  College,  which  shows  that  63 
per  cent,  of  the  digestible  food  materials  present  in  the  corn  plant 
are  found  in  the  ears  and  37  per  cent,  in  the  stover. 


The  Filling  Process. 

The  corn,  having  been  hauled  from  the  field  to  the  silo,  has 
still  to  be  reduced  to  a  fine,  homogeneous  mass,  so  that  it  will 
pack  well  in  the  silo  and  will  be  convenient  for  feeding. 

In  order  to  do  this,  the  whole  of  the  corn,  ears  and  all,  may  be 
run  through  a  Silver's  "Ohio"  Silage  Cutter. 


THE  FILLING  PROCESS.  177 

The  corn  is  unloaded  on  the  self-feed  table  of  the  cutter  and 
run  through  the  machine,  after  which  the  carrier  or  blower  ele- 
vates it  and  delivers  it  into  the  silo. 

By  far  the  easiest  method  of  unloading  is  to  drive  across  the 
end  of  the  traveling  feed  table  as  shown  in  the  illustration  Fig. 
55.  This  brings  the  bundles  into  proper  position  for  the  feeder 
to  simply  slide  them  endwise  onto  the  feed  table  requiring  little 
or  no  lifting.  By  starting  at  the  front  of  load  and  moving  up  as 
the  unloading  proceeds  one  man  can  handle  the  work  very  much 
quicker  in  this  way  and  with  far  less  labor,  and  two  men  can 
also  work  to  advantage  if  desired.  This  method  of  feeding  should 
be  practiced  wherever  the  setting  of  cutter  or  engine  permits 
driving  the  machine  from  the  opposite  or  front  end.  Its  labor- 
saving  advantages  will  be  readily  seen  when  contrasted  with  the 
plan  of  feeding  from  the  side  of  cutter  as  shown  in  Fig.  49,  page 
107,  where  the  entire  weight  of  each  load,  perhaps  one  to  two 
tons,  is  lifted  waist-high  and  thrown  forward. 

To  secure  best  results  from  the  standpoint  of  both  men  and 
equipment,  regular  steady  feeding  should  be  practiced  at  all 
times.  A  little  judgment  used  at  this  point  in  properly  lapping 
the  bundles  so  as  to  keep  up  .a  constant  and  uniform  supply  will 
not  only  produce  larger  capacity  but  will  relieve  the  heavy  uneven 
strain  to  which  a  silage  cutter  is  usually  subjected. 


Fig.    55. — Showing   one   of   easiest   methods   of   unloading   corn   at 
cutter. 


178  HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 

The  length  of  cutting  practiced  diffe'rs  somewhat  with  different 
farmers  and  with  the  variety  of  corn  to  be  siloed.  Care  should 
be  taken  in  this  respect,  however,  for  the  length  of  cut  has  much 
to  do  with  the  quality  of  the  silage.  Experience  has  demonstrated 
that  the  half  inch  cut,  or  even  shorter,  gives  most  satisfactory 
results.  The  corn  will  pack  and  settle  better  in  the  silo,  the  finer 
it  is  cut,  thus  better  excluding  the  air  and  at  the  same  time  in- 
creasing the  capacity  of  the  silo,  some  say  20  to  25  per  cent. 
Cattle  will  also  eat  the  larger  varieties  cleaner  if  cut  fine,  and  the 
majority  of  farmers  filling  silos  now  practice  such  cutting. 

The  cut  ensilage  should  be  directed  to  the  outer  edge  of  the 
silo  at  all  times,  thus  keeping  it  high  and  packing  it  there,  letting 
the  center  take  care  of  itself.  The  weight  of  the  silage  packs  it 
in  the  center. 

If  the  corn  is  siloed  "ears  and  all,"  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
a  man  or  boy  in  the  silo  while  it  is  being  filled,  to  level  the  sur- 
face and  tramp  down  the  sides  and  corners;  if  left  to  itself,  the 
heavier  pieces  of  ears  will  be  thrown  farthest  away  and  the  light 
leaves  and  tops  will  all  come  nearest  the  discharge;  as  a  result 
the  corn  will  not  settle  evenly,  and  the  different  layers  of  silage 
will  have  a  different  feeding  value.  Several  simple  devices,  such 
as  funnel-shaped  hoppers,  adjustable  board  suspended  from  roof, 
etc.,  will  suggest  themselves  for  receiving  the  silage  from  the  car- 
rier and  directing  it  where  desired  in  the  silo.  With  the  blower 
machines,  the  new  flexible  silo  tube,  shown  in  the  back  of  this 
book,  is  a  most  happy  solution  of  an  otherwise  disagreeable  job. 
At  the  same  time  it  insures  perfectly  equal  distribution  of  the  cut 
feed;  the  leaves,  moisture  and  heavier  parts  being  always  uni- 
formly mixed  as  cut. 

The  Proper  Distribution  of  the  Cut  Material  in  the  Silo. 

The  proper  distribution  of  the  cut  corn  after  it  has  been  ele- 
vated or  blown  into  the  silo  is  a  matter  which  should  have  proper 
attention  at  the  time  of  filling.  If  the  cut  material  is  allowed  to 
drop  all  in  one  place  and  then  have  no  further  attention  the  con- 
stant falling  of  the  material  in  one  place  will  tend  to  make  that 
portion  solid  while  the  outside  will  not  be  so  and  besides  the 
pieces  of  ears  and  heavier  portions  will  continually  roll  to  the 
outside.  As  a  result  the  silage  cannot  settle  evenly,  and  good 


SIZE  OF  CUTTER  REQUIRED.  179 

results  will  not  follow.  As  the  filling  progresses,  the  cut  material 
should  be  leveled  off  and  the  common  and  most  successful  prac- 
tice is  to  keep  the  material  higher  at  the  sides  than  at  the  center 
and  do  all  the  tramping  at  and  close  to  the  sides,  where  the  fric- 
tion of  the  walls  tends  to  prevent  as  rapid  settling  as  takes  place 
at  the  center.  In  modern  deep  silos,  the  weight  of  the  silage 
accomplishes  more  than  would  any  amount  of  tramping,  and  all 
that  is  necessary,  is  to  see  that  the  cut  material  is  rather  evenly 
distributed,  for  better  results  in  feeding,  and  to  assist  the  settling 
by  some  tramping  at  the  sides.  With  the  new  silo  tube,  this 
distribution  is  really  reduced  to  the  mere  guiding  of  the  mouth  of 
the  tube  by  hand. 


Tramping. 


Always  bear  in  mind  that  the  more  thoroughly  the  air  is  ex- 
cluded, the  better  will  be  the  silage.  This  is  accomplished  by 
adding  water  if  the  crop  is  over  ripe  and  by  a  thorough  tramp- 
ing as  the  silo  is  being  filled.  Pay  especial  attention  to  the  edges. 
If  you  have  spoiled  silage  around  the  edges  of  a  good  silo  it  is  be- 
cause it  was  not  tramped  sufficiently  at  this  point.  Keep  one  or 
two  men  tramping  continually  at  the  extreme  edges  close  to  the 
walls  of  the  silo.  A  little  more  trouble  and  expense  in  proper 
tramping  will  save  much  spoiled  silage.  Tramp  the  edges. 


Size  of  Cutter  and  Power  Required- 

The  cutter  used  in  filling  the  silo  should  have  ample  capacity 
to  give  satisfaction  and  do  the  work  rapidly;  a  rather  large  cut- 
ter is  therefore  better  than  a  cutter  that  is  barely  large  enough. 
The  size  required  depends  on  the  rapidity  with  which  it  is  desired 
to  fill  the  silo  and  on  the  power  at  hand.  Where  a  steam  engine 
is  available  it  is  the  cheapest  power  for  filling  large  silos,  as  the 
work  can  then  be  finished  very  rapidly.  For  small  farms  and 
silos,  the  gasoline  engine  has  rapidly  replaced  the  two  or  three 
horse  tread  powers  formerly  popular  for  carrier  machines,  and 
the  gasoline  tractors  of  12  to  25  horse  are  now  used  to  a  consid- 
erable extent  for  blower  machines.  Ordinary  steam  threshing 
engines  will  still  be  found  most  dependable,  however.  The  filling 
may  be  done  as  rapidly  as  possible,  or  may  be  done  slowly,  and 


180  HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 

no  harm  will  result,  if  for  any  reason  the  work  be  interrupted  for 
some  time.  More  silage  can  be  put  into  a  silo  with  slow,  than 
with  rapid  filling.  If  the  farmer  owns  his  own  machine,  he  can, 
of  course,  fill  his  silo  and  then  refill  after  the  silage  has  settled, 
so  that  the  silo  will  be  nearly  full  after  all  settling  has  taken 
place. 

If,  however,  the  farmer  must  depend  on  hiring  an  outfit,  he 
will  wish  to  do  the  filling  as  rapidly  as  possible,  as  a  matter  of 
economy,  and  will,  therefore,  seek  the  largest  possible  capacity. 

It  is  important  to  be  able  to  get  an  outfit  when  it  is  needed. 
An  early  frost  or  a  spell  of  hot,  dry  weather  may  so  affect  the 
crop  that  it  is  necessary  to  fill  the  silo  several  days  before  the 
usual  time.  For  this  reason  a  man  should  own  his  own  cutter 
and  engine,  especially  if  he  cuts  enough  silage  each  year  to  war- 
rant the  expenditure.  Usually  it  is  easier  to  hire  an  engine  than 
a  cutter.  Many  find  it  wise,  therefore,  to  buy  the  latter  and  de- 
pend on  being  able  to  rent  the  former  when  it  is  needed.  Where 
individual  ownership  is  not  possible,  the  next  best  move  is  for 
two  or  three  neighbors  to  purchase  the  necessary  machinery  in 
partnership. 

The  size  of  the  cutter  to  purchase  depends  also  on  how  it  is 
to  be  used.  For  private  use,  when  the  silo  is  not  large,  a  small 
silo  filler  will  suffice;  for  a  neighborhood  machine  where  two  or 
three  farmers  combine,  a  larger  size  will  be  desirable;  in  either 
case  if  the  silos  are  of  large  size  or  the  cutter  is  to  be  used  for 
jobbing  work  at  other  farms  the  larger  sizes  will  certainly  prove 
more  profitable.  In  some  sections,  community  cutters  have  be- 
come popular  where  from  eight  to  fifteen  farmers  purchase  com- 
plete equipment  for  their  own  use.  With  fifteen  or  twenty  men 
and  several  teams  on  the  job  there  is  always  friendly  rivalry  as 
to  the  size  of  loads,  speed  in  unloading,  etc.,  and  periodic  efforts 
to  choke  or  stall  the  cutter  are  sure  to  result.  It's  a  special 
feature  of  the  game  that  should  be  considered  and  only  the 
largest  capacity  cutter  should  be  selected  in  such  cases  if  supreme 
satisfaction  is  desired. 

These  conditions  have  created  a  demand  for  various  sizes  of 
cutters,  and  to  meet  this  demand  Silver's  "Ohio"  Silage  Cut- 
ters are  made  in  six  sizes,  Nos.  11,  12,  15,  17,  19  and  22  (the 
number  of  the  machine  indicates  the  length  of  knives  and  width 


BLOWER  OR  PNEUMATIC  ELEVATORS.  181 

of  throat),  and  equipped  with  metal  bucket  elevators  or  blower 
elevators  as  desired,  adaptcible  to  any  height  of  silo.  The  blower 
machines  require  more  power  to  operate  successfully  than  do  the 
carrier  machines,  although  the  largest  sizes  can  be  run  by  an 
ordinary  threshing  engine.  The  traveling  feed  table  and  the  bull 
dog  grip  feed  rolls  are  valuable  features  and  practically  do  away 
with  the  labor  of  feeding  the  heavy  green  corn,  besides  increasing 
the  capacity  of  the  machines  about  one-third,  on  account  of  its- 
being  so  much  easier  to  get  a  large  amount  of  material  past  the. 
feed  rolls.  These  machines  have  been  on  the  market  for  upwards 
of  twenty- five  years,  and  have  been  brought  to  a  wonderful  state 
of  perfection.  For  durability,  ease  and  reliability  of  operation, 
capacity  and  general  utility,  they  are  doubtless  the  most  practical 
means  of  filling  the  silo. 

The  Metal  Bucket  Elevator  is  the  older  style  of  elevator.  It 
delivers  the  cut  silage  corn  into  the  silo  through  a  window  or 
opening  at  the  top  and  must  be  longer  than  the  silo  is  high  as 
it  is  necessary  to  run  the  carrier  at  somewhat  of  an  angle.  The 
length  of  the  carrier  required  may  be  obtained  by  adding  about  40 
per  cent,  to  the  perpendicular  height  from  the  ground  to  the  win- 
dow; thus  for  a  20  ft.  silo  a  28  ft.  carrier  is  required,  and  for  a 
30  ft.  silo,  about  42  ft.  of  carrier  will  be  necessary. 

The  Metal  Bucket  Elevators  for  Silver's  "Ohio"  Silage  Cutters 
are  made  both  straight  away  and  with  swivel  base,  which  en- 
ables the  operator  to  set  the  cutter  in  the  desired  position,  and 
as  the  swivel  base  gives  the  carrier  a  range  of  adjustment  ex- 
tending over  nearly  a  half  circle,  the  carrier  can  be  run  directly 
to  the  window,  or  in  the  case  of  two  silos  setting  side  by  side, 
both  can  be  filled  with  one  setting  of  the  cutter. 

The  Nos.  15,  17  and  19  Silver's  "Ohio"  Silage  Cutters  are  the 
sizes  most  in  use  by  farmers,  stockmen  and  dairymen.  The 
traveling  feed  table,  first  adopted  by  the  "Ohio,"  which  is  long 
enough  to  receive  a  bundle  of  corn  is  a  most  valuable  feature 
and  has  become  almost  universal  on  the  "Ohio"  machines  used 
for  silo  filling.  It  decreases  the  labor  of  feeding  and  makes  any 
size  of  machine  about  equal  in  capacity  to  the  next  size  larger 
without  it. 

The  newer  and  more  modern  method  of  elevating  fodder  in 
filling  silos,  is  the  use  of  the  Blower  Elevator  which  blows  the 


182 


HOW  TO   MAKE   SILAGE. 


cut  fodder  .into  the  silo  through  a  continuous  pipe.  Blower  Ele- 
vators (see  illustration  of  Silver's  "Ohio"  Blower  Cutter,  Fig.  53) 
have  been  in  use  to  an  increasing  extent  for  several  years,  and 
today  there  is  absolutely  no  doubt  as  to  their  superiority  for  ele- 
vating the  material.  Where  sufficient  power  is  available  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  elevating  the  cut  fodder  into  the  highest  silos. 

Although  the  Blower  Machines  require  somewhat  more  power 
than  the  old  style  Carrier,  they  have  numerous  advantages  over 
the  latter,  and  -the  majority  of  machines  now  being  sold  are 
equipped  with  Blowers.  We  mention  below  some  of  the  features 
that  have  served  to  bring  Silver's  "Ohio"  Monarch  Blowers  to  the 
notice  and  favor  of  farmers  and  dairymen  so  rapidly. 

The  Blower  Machine  is  quickly  set  up,  taken  down  or  moved, 
as  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  remove  the  pipe,  (which  is  in  sec- 


Fig.  53. — Shows  Silver's  No.  19  "Ohio"  Monarch  Self  Feeder  Blower 
Silage  Cutter  filling  a  group  of  five  silos,  owned  by  S.  M. 
Shoemaker,  Burnside,  P.  O.,  Eccleston,  Md.  The  machine  had 
just  completed  storing  1700  tons  of  silage. 


BLOWER  OR  PNEUMATIC  ELEVATORS.  183 

tions  of  various  lengths  from  four  to  ten  feet  as  desired),  which 
requires  but  a  few  moments.  This  operation  requires  but  little 
time  as  compared  with  that  occupied  in  setting  up  or  taking  apart 
the  chain  elevator. 

The  Blower  Machine  is  clean  in  operation,  placing  all  of  the 
corn  in  the  silo  and  there  is  no  litter  around  the  machine  when 
the  filling  is  finished. 

The  action  of  the  fan  paddles  is  such  that  the  corn  is  made 
much  finer  and  it  therefore  packs  closer  in  the  silo,  thus  enabling 
more  fodder  to  be  stored  in  the  silo;  the  corn  is  all  knocked  off 
of  the  pieces  of  cobs  and  distributed  through  the  cut  fodder  better, 
and  the  pieces  of  the  heavy  butts  and  joints  are  also  split  and 
knocked  to  pieces,  all  of  which  reduces  the  silage  to  a  fine  condi- 
tion so  that  it  is  eaten  up  cleaner  by  the  stock. 

The  fan  or  blower  device  is  also  likely  to  be  more  durable 
than  the  chain  elevator. 

The  "Ohio"  direct  drive  construction  with  pulley,  knife  cylin- 
der and  fan  all  on  main  shaft,  is  unique  among  silage  cutters  and 
is  thoroughly  covered  by  patents.  Its  large  fan  permits  full 
capacity  at  low  speed  so  that  it  never  explodes  or  blows  up. 
The  feeding  mechanism  can  be  started,  stopped  or  reversed 
with  a  single  lever.  The  reverse  is  entirely  by  wood  friction. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  strain  on  the  machine;  not  a  gear  tooth 
changes  mesh.  The  machine  cuts  all  kinds  of  fodder  from  %  to  4 
inch  lengths  as  desired,  with  a  perfectly  adjusted  shear  cut. 

Many  have  been  skeptical  as  to  the  ability  of  the  Blower  to 
elevate  the  material  as  rapidly  as  the  "Ohio"  Machines  cut  it. 
This  proposition,  however,  has  been  proven  entirely  feasible  and 
successful,  and  there  positively  need  be  no  fear  on  this  point 
if  the  following  points  are  kept  in  mind. 

The  machine  must  be  run  at  the  proper  speed  as  recommended 
by  the  manufacturers.  A  fan  can  only  create  a  sufficient  blast 
by  running  fast  enough  to  force  the  air  through  the  pipe  at 
the  rate  of  nine  or  ten  thousand  feet  per  minute.  Green  corn 
is  heavy  stuff  and  requires  a  strong  current  of  air  to  carry  it 
through  50  or  40  feet  of  pipe  at  the  rate  of  10  to  30  tons  per 
hour.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  unless  proper  speed  be 
maintained  there  will  be  no  elevation  of  the  material  whatever. 
If  the  power  at  hand  is  not  sufficient  to  maintain  full  speed  when 


184  HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 

the  cutters  are  fed  to  full  capacity,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to 
feed  the  machine  accordingly,  in  other  words,  to  cut  down  the 
capacity  to  the  point  where  full  speed  can  be  maintained,  as  is 
necessary  with  other  kinds  of  machinery,  such  as  threshing 
machines,  grinding  mills,  etc. 

In  setting  a  Blower  Machine  it  is  necessary  to  have  the 
pipe  as  nearly  perpendicular  as  possible,  so  that  the  current  of 
air  within  the  pipe  will  lift  the  material.  This  is  especially 
true  where  the  pipe  is  long,  say  20  feet  or  more,  because  the 
green  fodder  being  heavy  will  settle  down  on  to  the  lower  side 
of  the  pipe,  if  this  has  much  slant,  and  the  wind  blast  will  pass 
over  the  fodder,  thus  allowing  it  to  lodge,  whereas  if  the  pipe  be 
perpendicular,  or  nearly  so,  no  stoppage  will  occur.  It  is  also 
necessary  to  see  that  full  speed  is  attained  before  beginning  to 
feed  the  machine,  and  also  to  stop  the  feeding  while  the  machine 
is  in  full  motion  so  that  the  Blower  will  have  an  opportunity 
to  clear  itself  before  shutting  off  the  power. 

There  must  be  ample  vent  in  the  silo  to  prevent  back  pres- 
sure, as  the  tremendous  volume  of  air  forced  into  the  silo  with 
the  cut  fodder  must  have  some  means  of  escape. 

If  these  few  points  are  kept  in  mind,  there  can  be  no  possible 
doubt  as  to  the  successful  operation  of  the  Blower  Elevator; 
and,  as  previously  stated,  there  is  absolutely  no  doubt  as  to  their 
superiority  for  elevating  silage.  Scores  of  Silver's  "Ohio"  Blower 
Machines  are  in  successful  use  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

(N.  B.  At  the  end  of  this  volume  will  be  found  illustrations 
and  descriptions  of  several  sizes  and  styles  of  Silver's  "Ohio" 
Silage  Cutters,  which  the  reader  can  refer  to,  in  addition  to  the 
illustration  given  here.) 

Danger  from  Carbonic-Acid  Poisoning  in  Silos. — As  soon  as 
the  corn  in  the  silo  begins  to  heat,  carbonic-acid  gas  is  evolved, 
and  if  the  silo  is  shut  up  tight  the  gas  will  gradually  accumulate 
directly  above  the  fodder,  since  it  is  heavier  than  air  and  does 
not  mix  with  it  under  the  conditions  given.  If  a  man  or  an 
animal  goes  down  into  this  atmosphere,  there  is  great  danger  of 
asphyxiation,  as  is  the  case  under  similar  conditions  in  a  deep 
cistern  or  well.  Poisoning  cases  from  this  cause  have  occurred 
in  filling  silos  where  the  filling  has  been  interrupted  for  one  or 
more  days,  and  men  have  then  gone  into  the  silo  to  tramp 


COVERING  THE  SILOED  FODDER.  185 

down  the  cut.  corn.  If  the  doors  above  the  siloed  mass  are  left 
open  when  the  filling  is  stopped,  and  the  silo  thus  ventilated, 
carbonic  acid  poisoning  cannot  take  place,  since  the  gas  will 
then  slowly  diffuse  into  the  air.  Carbonic  acid  being  without  odor 
or  color,  to  all  appearances  like  ordinary  air,  it  cannot  be  directly 
observed,  but  may  be  readily  detected  by  means  of  a  lighted  lan- 
tern or  candle.  If  the  light  goes  out  when  lowered  into  the  silo- 
there  is  an  accumulation  of  carbonic  acid  in  it,  and  a  person 
should  open  feed  doors  and  fan  the  air  in  the  silo  before  going 
down  into  it. 

After  the  silage  is  made  and  the  temperature  in  the  silo  has- 
gone  down  considerably,  there  is  no  further  evolution  of  car- 
bonic acid,  and  therefore  no  danger  in  entering  the  silo  even  if 
this  has  been  shut  up  tight.  The  maximum  evolution  of  carbonic 
acid,  and  consequently  the  danger  of  carbonic-acid  poisoning 
comes  during  or  directly  after  the  filling  of  the  silo. 


Covering  the  Siloed  Fodder. 


Many  devices  for  covering  the  siloed  fodder  have  been  recom- 
mended and  tried,  with  varying  success.  The  original  method' 
was  to  put  boards  on  top  of  the  fodder,  and  to  weight  them 
heavily  by  means  of  a  foot  layer  of  dirt  or  sand,  or  with  stone. 
The  weighting  having  later  on  been  done  away  with,  lighter  ma- 
terial, as  straw,  hay,  sawdust,  etc.,  was  substituted  for  the 
stone  or  sand.  Building  paper  was  often  placed  over  the  fodder, 
and  boards  on  top  of  the  paper.  There  is  no  special  advantage 
derived  from  the  use  of  building-paper,  and  it  is  now  never 
used.  Many  farmers  run  some  corn  stalks,  or  green  husked 
fodder,  through  the  cutter  after  the  fodder  is  all  in.  In  the  South, 
cotton-seed  hulls  are  easily  obtained,  and  form  a  cheap  and  most 
efficient  cover. 

None  of  these  materials  or  any  other  recommended  for  the 
purpose  can  perfectly  preserve  the  uppermost  layer  of  silage, 
some  four  to  six  inches  of  the  top  layer  being  usually  spoilt. 
Occasionally  this  spoilt  silage  may  not  be  so  bad  but  that  cattle 
or  hogs  will  eat  it  up  nearly  clean,  but  it  is  at  best  very  poor 
food  and  should. not  be  used  by  any  farmer  who  cares  for  the 
quality  of  his  products.  The  wet  or  green  materials  are  better 


186  HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 

for  cover  than  dry  substances,  since  they  prevent  evaporation 
of  water  from  the  top  layer;  when  this  is  dry  air  will  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  fodder  below,  thus  making  it  possible  for  putre- 
factive bacteria  and  molds  to  continue  the  destructive  work 
begun  by  the  fermentation  bacteria,  and  causing  more  of  the 
silage  to  spoil. 

Silage  will  settle  several  feet  in  an  ordinary  silo.  If  possible, 
after  filling  the  silo  full,  let  it  settle  for  three  or  four  days,  and 
then  fill  again  to  the  top,  wetting  the  top  on  each  occasion  with 
about  one  and  one-half  gallons  of  water  to  every  square  foot 
of  surface.  After  your  silo  has  been  filled  and  the  top  thoroughly 
wet,  leave  it  alone.  Do  not  get  on  top  of  it,  and  do  not  dig  down 
through  the  top  to  examine  it.  The  more  this  is  done,  the  more 
silage  you  will  lose. 

Use  of  Water  in  Filling  Silos. — During  late  years  the  practice 
of  applying  water  to  the  fodder  in  the  silo  has  been  followed  in 
a  large  number  of  cases.  The  surface  is  tramped  thoroughly 
and  a  considerable  amount  of  water  added.  In  applying  the 
method  at  the  Wisconsin  Station,  Prof.  King,  a  few  days  after 
the  completion  of  the  filling  of  the  silo,  added  water  to  the 
fodder  corn  at  the  rate  of  about  ten  pounds  per  square  foot  of 
surface,  repeating  the  same  process  about  ten  days  afterwards. 
By  this  method  a  sticky,  almost  impervious  layer  of  rotten  silage, 
a  couple  of  inches  thick,  will  form  on  the  top,  which  will  pre- 
vent evaporation  of  water  from  the  corn  below,  and  will  pre- 
serve all  but  a  few  inches  at  the  top.  The  method  can  be  recom- 
mended in  cases  where  the  corn  or  clover  goes  into  the  silo  in 
a  rather  dry  condition,  on  account  of  drouth  or  extreme  hot 
weather,  so  as  not  to  pack  sufficiently  by  its  own  weight.  While 
weighting  of  the  siloed  fodder  has  long  since  been  done  away 
with,  it  may  still  prove  advantageous  to  resort  to  it  where  very 
dry  fodder  is  siloed,  or  in  case  of  shallow  silos.  Under  ordinary 
conditions  neither  weighting  nor  application  of  water  should  be 
necessary,  but  where  the  corn  has  become  too  mature  and  dried 
up,  on  account  of  drouth,  or  delay  in  building  the  silo,  it  is  a 
great  relief  to  know  that  good  silage  can  be  made  from  such 
corn  by  an  application  of  considerable  water.  Water  is  now 
generally  added  by  running  a  stream  into  the  blower  as  the 
cut  corn  is  elevated  into  the  silo  or  in  the  silo  itself  after  each 


FREEZING  OF  SILAGE.  187 

load  or  half  day's  run.  Frosted  corn  can  also  be  made  into  a 
good  quality  of  silage  if  a  liberal  amount  of  water  is  added  as 
directed. 

There  is  only  one  way  in  which  all  of  the  silage  can  be  pre- 
served intact,  viz.,  by  beginning  to  feed  it  within  a  few  days 
after  the  silo  has  been  filled.  This  method  is  now  practiced  by 
many  farmers,  especially  dairymen,  who  in  this  manner  supple- 
ment scant  fall  pastures. 

By  beginning  to  feed  at  once  from  the  silo,  the  siloing  system 
is  brought  to  perfection,  provided  the  silo  structure  is  air-tight, 
and  constructed  so  as  to  admit  of  no  unnecessary  losses  of 
nutrients.  Under  these  conditions  there  is  a  very  considerable 
saving  of  food  materials  over  silage  made  in  poorly  constructed 
silos,  or  over  field-cured  shocked  fodder  corn,  as  we  have  already 
seen. 


Freezing  of  Silage. 


Freezing  of  silage  has  sometimes  been  a  source  of  annoyance 
and  loss  to  farmers  in  Northern  states,  and  in  the  future,  with 
the  progress  of  the  stave  silo,  we  shall  most  likely  hear  more 
about  frozen  silage  than  we  have  in  the  past.  As  stated  in  the 
discussion  of  the  stave  silo,  however,  the  freezing  of  silage  must 
be  considered  an  inconvenience  rather  than  a  positive  detriment; 
when  the  silage  is  thawed  out  it  is  eaten  with  the  same  relish 
by  stock  as  is  silage  that  has  never  been  frozen,  and  apparently 
with  equally  good  results.  If  frozen  silage  is  not  fed  out  directly 
after  thawed  it  will  spoil  and  soon  become  unfit  to  be  used  for 
cattle  food;  thawed  silage  will  spoil  much  sooner  than  ordinary 
silage  that  has  not  been  frozen  and  thawed  out.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence that  silage  which  has  been  frozen  and  slowly  thawed  out 
is  less  palatable  or  nutritious  than  silage  of  the  same  kind  which 
has  been  kept  free  from  frost. 

Frozen  silage  should  be  avoided,  not  because  it  is  unwhole- 
some, but  because  it  is  too  cold.  The  warmer  the  silage  can  be 
kept  the  more  palatable  it  will  be  and  the  less  energy  will  be 
required  to  raise  it  to  the  body  temperature  of  the  animals. 
Frozen  silage  also  has  a  tendency  to  make  the  cows  laxative, 
but  not  overmuch.  It  does  not  seem  to  bring  down  the  milk 
flow  as  might  be  supposed.  Sheep  seem  to  be  affected  more  read- 


188  HOW  TO  MAKE  SILAGE. 

ily  than  cattle  by  eating  it  and  they  are  also  more  susceptible  to 
the  effects  of  moldy  or  spoiled  silage. 

"Freezing  of  silage,"  says  Iowa  State  College  Bulletin  No.  100, 
"is  due  to  loss  of  heat;  first,  through  the  silo  wall;  and  second, 
to  the  air  in  contact  with  the  feeding  surface. 

"It  may  be  impartially  said  that,  as  far  as  the  prevention 
of  freezing  is  concerned,  the  stave,  stone,  single  wall  brick  and 
concrete  silos  are  of  about  equal  merit. 

"The  second  cause  of  freezing  mentioned,  that  is,  the  loss  of 
heat  from  the  silage  surface,  is  too  often  the  cause  of  unnecessary 
freezing.  If  air  above  the  silage  is  confined,  no  serious  loss  of 
heat  can  possibly  take  place.  When  the  top  of  the  silo  is  open 
and  a  free  circulation  of  air  permitted,  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  prevent  the  surface  from  freezing  in  severe  weather.  A  per- 
sonal investigation  of  silos  in  cold  weather  proved  conclusively 
that  those  provided  with  a  tight  roof  did  not  contain  nearly  as 
much  frozen  silage  as  those  left  open." 

The  difficulty  of  the  freezing  of  the  silage  may  be  avoided  by 
checking  the  ventilation  in  the  silo  and  by  leaving  the  door  to 
the  silo  carefully  closed  in  severe  weather.  If  the  top  layer  of 
silage  freezes  some  of  the  warm  silage  may  be  mixed  with  the 
frozen  silage  an  hour  or  two  before  feeding  time,  and  all  the 
silage  will  then  be  found  in  good  condition  when  fed  out.  A 
layer  of  straw  may  be  kept  as  a  cover  over  the  silage;  this  will 
prevent  it  from  freezing,  and  is  easily  cleared  off  when  silage  is 
to  be  taken  out. 

Covering  over  the  exposed  surface  of  the  silage  with  old 
"blankets  or  hanging  a  lantern  in  the  silo  are  other  methods  of 
keeping  out  the  frost. 


Silage  from  Frosted  Corn. 


Experiments  were  conducted  at  the  Vermont  Station  in  Octo- 
"ber,  1906,  with  immature  corn,  mature  corn  not  frosted,  and  mature 
corn  frosted  hard  or  frozen  and  the  leaves  whitened.  No  ill 
results  were  noticeable  in  the  butter  product.  It  was  found 
that  "the  effect  of  frosting  corn,  and  still  more  of  freezing  it, 
appears  very  slightly  to  have  been  to  depress  its  feeding  value 


STEAMING  SILAGE.  189 

•when  made  into  silage."  The  testimony  seemed  in  favor  of  run- 
ning- frost  risks  in  order  to  gain  a  greater  maturity,  rather  than 
to  silo  the  immature  product. 

Steamed  Silage. 

While  fermentation  in  silage  causes  a  small  unavoidable  loss, 
it  develops  flavors  and  softens  the  plant  tissue.  Excessive  fer- 
mentation causes  high  acid.  Steam  has  been  used  with  much 
success  to  check  it  in  such  cases,  says  Farmer's  Bulletin  No.  316. 
It  is  piped  at  the  bottom  and  middle  of  the  silo  until  the  whole 
mass  is  hot. 

Steaming  seems  beneficial  and  silage  so  treated  is  considered 
much  better  than  that  which  is  not  steamed.  Stall  fed  animals 
have  eaten  from  50  to  75  Ibs.  of  silage  per  day,  but  the  safer 
method  is  to  feed  less  than  50  Ibs.  p.r  day. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

Silage  is  eaten  with  a  relish  by  all  kinds  of  farm  animals, 
dairy  and  beef  cattle,  horses,  mules,  sheep,  goats,  swine,  and 
even  poultry.  It  should  never  be  fed  as  sole  roughage  to  any 
one  of  these  classes  of  stock,  however,  but  always  in  connection 
with  some  dry  roughage.  The  nearer  maturity  the  corn  is  when 
cut  for  the  silo  the  more  silage  may  safely  be  fed  at  a  time,  but 
it  is  always  well  to  avoid  feeding  it  excessively. 

The  silo  should  always  be  emptied  from  the  top  in  horizontal 
layers,  and  the  surface  kept  level,  so  as  to  expose  as  little  silage 
as  possible  to  the  air.  It  should  be  fed  out  sufficiently  rapidly 
to  avoid  spoiling  .of  the  silage;  in  ordinary  northern  winter 
weather  a  layer  a  couple  of  inches  deep  should  be  fed  off  daily. 

Silage  for  Milch  Cows. 

Silage  is  par  excellence  a  cow  feed,  says  Prof.  Woll  in  his 
Book  on  Silage.  Since  the  introduction  .of  the  silo  in  this 
country,  the  dairymen,  more  than  any  other  class  of  farmers, 
have  been  among  the  most  enthusiastic  siloists,  and  up  to  the 
present  time  a  larger  number  of  silos  are  found  in  dairy  dis- 
tricts than  in  any  other  regions  where  animal  husbandry  is  a 
prominent  industry.  As  with  other  farm  animals,  cows  fed 
silage  should  receive  other  roughage  in  the  shape  of  corn  stalks, 
hay,  etc.  The  quantities  of  silage  fed  should  not  exceed  forty, 
or  at  outside,  fifty  pounds  per  day  per  head.  It  is  possible 
that  a  maximum  allowance  of  only  25  or  30  pounds  per  head  daily 
is  to  be  preferred  where  the  keeping  quality  of  the  milk  is  an 
important  consideration,  especially  if  the  silage  was  made  from 
somewhat  immature  corn.  The  silage  may  be  given  in  one  or 
two  feeds  daily,  and,  in  case  of  milch  cows  always  after  milking, 
and  not  before  or  during  same,  as  the  peculiar  silage  odor  may, 
in  the  latter  case,  reappear  in  the  milk.  (See  below.) 

Silage  exerts  a  very  beneficial  influence  on  the  secretion  of 
milk.  Whtre  winter  dairying  is  practiced,  cows  will  usually 

190 


KEEPS  UP  MILK  FLOW.  191 

drop  considerably  in  milk  toward  spring,  if  fed  on  dry  feed, 
causing  a  loss  of  milk  through  the  whole  remaining  portion  of 
the  lactation  period.  If  silage  is  fed  there  wlil  be  no  such  marked 
decrease  in  the  flow  of  milk  before  turning  out  to  grass,  and  the 
cows  will  be  able  to  keep  up  well  in  milk  until  late  in  summer. 


Fig.  54. — Silage  Truck  Designed  for  carting  silage  from  the  silo 
to  the  feeding  alley.  Smooth  rounded  corners  inside.  Saves 
time,  labor  and  silage. 

The  overhead  carrier  is  also  used  to  some  extent  for  the  same 
purpose. 

or  early  in  the  fall,  when  they  are  dried  up  prior  to  calving.  Silage 
has  a  similar  effect  on  the  milk  secretion  as  green  fodder  or 
pasture,  and  if  made  from  well-matured  corn,  is  more  like  these 
feeds  than  any  other  feed  the  farmer  can  produce. 

The  feeding  of  silage  to  milch  cows  has  sometimes  been  ob- 
jected to  when  the  milk  was  intended  for  the  manufacture  of 
certain  kinds  of  cheese,  or  of  condensed  milk,  and  there  are  in- 
stances where  such  factories  have  enjoined  their  patrons  from 
feeding  silage  to  their  cows.  When  the  latter  is  properly  pre- 
pared and  properly  fed,  there  can  be  no  foundation  whatever  for 
this  injunction;  it  has  been  repeatedly  demonstrated  that  Swiss 
cheese  of  superior  quality  can  be  made  from  the  milk  of  silage - 
fed  cows,  and  condensing  factories  whose  patrons  are  feeding 
silage  have  been  able  to  manufacture  a  superior  product.  The 
quality  of  the  silage  made  during  the  first  dozen  years  of  silo 


192  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

experience  in  this  country  was  very  poor,  being  sour  and  often 
spoilt  in  largo  quantities,  and,  what  may  have  been  still  more 
important,  it  was  sometimes  fed  in  an  injudicious  manner,  cattle 
being-  made  to  subsist  on  this  feed  as  sole  roughage.  Under  these 
conditions  it  is  only  natural  that  the  quality  of  the  milk  should 
be  impaired,  and  that  manufacturers  preferred  to  entirely  pro- 
hibit the  use  of  it  rather  than  to  teach  their  patrons  to  follow 
proper  methods  in  the  making  and  feeding  of  silage.  There  is 
an  abundance  of  evidence  at  hand  showing  that  good  silage  fed 
in  moderate  quantities  will  produce  an  excellent  quality  of  both 
butter  and. cheese.  According  to  the  testimony  of  butter  experts, 
silage  not  only  does  not  injure  the  flavor  of  butter,  but  better- 
flavored  butter  is  produced  by  judicious  silage  feeding  than  can 
be  made  from  dry  feed. 

Silage  in  the  production  of  "certified  milk." — In  answer  to 
the  question  whether  there  is  any  objection  made  to  the  milk 
when  the  cows  are  fed  silage,  Mr.  H.  B.  Gurler,  the  well-known 
Illinois  dairyman,  whose  certified  milk  sent  to  the  Paris  Expo- 
sition in  1900,  kept  sweet  for  one  month  without  having  any 
preservatives  added  to  it,  and  was  awarded  a  gold  medal,  gave 
the  following  information:  "No,  there  is  not.  I  have  had  per- 
sons who  knew  I  was  feeding  silage  imagine  they  could  taste  it. 
I  caught  one  of  the  leading  Chicago  doctors  a  while  ago.  He 
imagined  that  he  could  taste  silage  in  the  milk,  and  I  was  not 
feeding  it  at  all.  When  I  first  went  into  the  business  I  did  not 
feed  any  silage  to  the  cows  from  which  the  certified  milk  was 
produced.  I  knew  it  was  all  right  for  butter  making,  as  I  had 
made  butter  from  the  milk  of  the  cows  fed  with  silage,  and  sent 
it  to  New  York  in  competition  with  butter  made  from  dry  food, 
and  it  proved  to  be  the  finer  butter  of  the  two.  The  first  winter 
I  had  samples  sent  down  to  my  family  in  DeKalb  from  the  stable 
where  we  fed  silage  and  from  the  stable  where  we  were  making 
the  certified  milk  for  Chicago,  and  in  which  we  fed  no  silage.  I 
presume  I  made  one  hundred  comparative  tests  that  winter  of  the 
milk  from  these  two  stables.  My  wife  and  daughter  could  not  tell 
the  difference  between  the  two  samples.  In  the  large  majority  of 
cases  they  would  select  the  milk  from  the  cows  fed  silage  as  the 
sweeter  milk." 

It  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  general  use  of  silage 
among  progressive  dairymen  in  our  country,  to  state  that  of 


SILAGE  FOR  "CERTIFIED  MILK."  193 

one  hundred  farmers  furnishing  the  feed  rations  fed  to  their 
dairy  cows,  in  an  investigation  of  this  subject  conducted  by  Prof. 
Woll  in  1894,  sixty-four  were  feeding  silage  to  their  stock,  this 
feed  being  used  a  larger  number  of  times  than  any  other  single 
cattle  food,  wheat  bran  only  excepted. 

An  interesting  experiment  'as  to  the  effect  of  silage  on  milk 
was  conducted  by  the  Illinois  Station,  where  a  herd  of  40  cows 
was  divided,  one  lot  being  fed  40  Ibs.  of  silage  a  day,  the  other 
clover  hay  and  grain.  Samples  of  milk  were  submitted  to  372 
persons  for  an  opinion.  Sixty  per  cent  preferred  the  silage-fed 
milk,  29  per  cent  non-silage-fed  milk,  while  11  per  cent  had  no 
choice.  They  were  able  to  distinguish  between  the  two  kinds, 
but  found  nothing  objectionable  about  either.  The  summary  of 
the  test  was  that  when  silage  imparts  a  bad  or  disagreeable 
flavor  to  milk  produced  from  it,  almost  invariably  the  cause  is 
that  the  silage  has  not  been  fed  properly,  or  that  spoiled  silage 
has  been  used. 

It  has  been  contended  that  the  acetic  acid  in  silage  has  a 
tendency  to  make  milk  sour  more  quickly.  A  user  of  silage 
for  14  years  took  a  gallon  of  milk  from  a  cow  fed  silage  for  42 
days  and  a  gallon  from  another  that  had  received  no  silage  and 
set  them  side  by  side  in  a  room  having  a  temperature  of  40 
degrees.  Both  gallons  of  milk  began  to  sour  at  the  same  time. 

The  combination  in  which  corn  silage  will  be  used  in  feeding 
milch  cows  will  depend  a  good  deal  on  local  conditions;  it  may  be 
said  in  general  that  it  should  be  supplemented  by  a  fair  pro- 
portion of  nitrogenous  feeds  like  clover  hay,  wheat  bran,  ground 
oats,  linseed  meal,  gluten  feed,  cotton-seed  meal,  etc.  As  it  may 
be  of  some  help  to  our  readers  a  number  of  balanced  rations  or 
such  as  are  near  enough  balanced  to  produce  good  results  at 
the  pail,  are  presented  below. 

Silage  Rations  for  Milch  Cows. 

No.    1.     Corn    silage,    35    Ibs.;    hay,    8    Ibs.;    wheat    bran,    4    Ibs.; 
ground  oats,   3  Ibs.;    oil  meal,  2  Ibs. 

No.    2.      Corn    silage,    50   Ibs.;    corn    stalks,    10    Ibs.;    corn    meal,    2 
Ibs.;    wheat  bran,   4  Ibs.;    malt  sprouts,   3   Ibs.;    oil  meal,    1   Ib. 


194  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

No.  3.  Corn  silage,  40  Ibs.;  clover  and  timothy  mixed,  10  Ibs.; 
wheat  shorts,  3  Ibs.;  gluten  feed,  3  Ibs.;  corn  and  cob  meal,  3 
Ibs. 

No.  4.  Corn  silage,  20  Ibs.;  corn  stalks,  10  Ibs.;  hay,  4  Ibs.; 
wheat  bran,  4  Ibs.;  gluten  meaj,  3  Ibs.;  ground  oats,  3  Ibs. 

No.  5.  Corn  silage,  40  Ibs.;  clover  hay,  10  Ibs.;  oat  feed,  4  Ibs.; 
corn  meal,  3  Ibs.;  gluten  feed,  3  Ibs. 

No.  6.  Corn  silage,  45  Ibs.;  corn  stalks,  5  Ibs.;  oat  straw,  5  Ibs.; 
dried  brewers'  grains,  4  Ibs.;  wheat  shorts,  4  Ibs. 

No.  7.  Corn  silage,  35  Ibs.;  hay,  10  Ibs.;  corn  meal,  3  Ibs.;  wheat 
bran,  4  Ibs.;  oats,  3  Ibs. 

No.  8-.  Corn  silage,  40  Ibs.;  corn  stover,  8  Ibs.;  wheat  bran,  4  Ibs.; 
gluten  meal,  2  Ibs.;  oil  meal,  2  Ibs. 

No.  9.  Corn  silage,  20  Ibs.;  clover  and  timothy  hay,  15  Ibs.;  corn 
meal,  3  Ibs.;  ground  oats,  3  Ibs.;  oil  meal,  2  Ibs.;  cotton  seed 
meal,  1  Ib. 

No.  10.  Clover  silage,  25  Ibs.;  corn  stover,  10  Ibs.;  hay,  5  Ibs.; 
wheat  shorts,  2  Ibs.;  oat  feed,  4  Ibs.;  corn  meal,  2  Ibs. 

No.  11.  Clover  silage,  30  Ibs.;  dry  fodder  corn,  10  Ibs.;  oat  straw, 
4  Ibs.;  wheat  bran,  4  Ibs.;  malt  sprouts,  2  Ibs.;  oil  meal,  2  Ibs. 

No.  12.  Clover  silage,  40  Ibs.;  hay,  10  Ibs.;  roots,  20  Ibs.;  corn 
meal,  4  Ibs.;  ground  oats,  4  Ibs. 

The  preceding  rations  are  only  intended  as  approximate  guides 
in  feeding  dairy  cows.  Every  dairy  farmer  knows  that  there  are 
hardly  two  cows  that  will  act  in  exactly  the  same  manner  and 
will  need  exactly  the  same  amount  of  feed.  It  is  important, 
therefore,  to  adapt  the  quantities  and  kinds  of  feed  given  to  the 
special  needs  of  the  different  cows;  one  cow  will  fatten  on  corn 
meal,  where  another  will  be  able  to  eat  and  make  good  use  of 
two  or  three  quarts  of  it.  In  the  same  way  some  cows  will  eat 
more  roughage  than  others  and  do  equally  well  as  those  that 
get  more  of  the  food  in  the  form  of  more  concentrated  and  highly 
digestible  feeding  stuffs.  The  only  safe  rule  to  go  by  is  to  feed 
according  to  the  needs  of  the  different  cows;  to  study  each  cow 
and  find  out  how  much  food  she  can  take  care  of  without  laying 
on  flesh,  and  how  she  responds  to  the  feeding  of  foods  of  dif- 
ferent character,  like  wheat  bran  and  corn  meal,  for  instance. 


SILAGE  RATIONS  FOR  MILCH  COWS.  195 

The  specimen  rations  given  in  the  preceding  can,  therefore,  only 
be  used  to  show  the  average  amount  of  common  feeds  which  a 
good  dairy  cow  can  take  in  and  give  proper  returns  for. 

The  popularity  of  the  silo  with  owners  of  dairy  cattle  has 
increased  very  greatly,  says  Prof.  Plumb.  Few  owners  of  stock 
of  this  class,  who  have  properly-built  silos,  and  well  preserved 
silage,  would  discard  silage  as  an  adjunct  to  feeding.  Silage 
certainly  promotes  milk  flow.  One  great  argument  in  favor  of  its 
use  lies  in  the  cheapness  of  production  per  ton,  and  the  ability 
to  store  and  secure  a  palatable,  nutritious  food  in  weather  con- 
ditions that  would  seriously  injure  hay  or  dry  fodder. 

There  is  one  important  point  that  dairy  farmers  should  bear 
in  mind,  viz.,  when  the  silo  is  first  opened  only  a  small  feed 
should  be  given  at  first.  In  changing  from  grass  or  dry  feed  to 
silage,  if  a  regular  full  ration  is  given,  the  silage  will  perhaps 
slightly  affect  the  taste  of  the  milk  for  a  few  milkings,  and  if 
the  change  is  from  dry  feed  it  may  cause  too  great  activity  of 
the  bowels. 

Silage  for  Beef  Cattle. 

Prof.  Henry  says  in  regard  to  the  value  of  silage  for  fattening 
steers:  "As  with  roots,  silage  makes  the  carcass  watery  and 
soft  to  the  touch.  Some  have  considered  this  a  disadvantage,  but 
is  it  not  a  desirable  condition  in  the  fattening  steer?  Corn  and 
roughage  produce  a  hard  dry  carcass,  and  corn  burns  out  the 
digestive  tract  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  With  silage  and 
roots,  digestion  certainly  must  be  more  nearly  normal,  and  its 
profitable  action  longer  continued.  The  tissues  of  the  body  are 
juicy,  and  the  whole  system  must  be  in  just  that  condition  which 
permits  rapid  fattening." 

Young  stock  may  be  fed  half  as  much  silage  as  full  grown 
ones,  with  the  same  restrictions  and  precautions  as  given  for 
steers.  Experience  obtained  at  the  Kansas  Station  suggests  that 
corn  silage  is  not  a  fit  food  for  breeding  bulls,  unless  fed  a  few 
pounds  only  as  a  relish;  fed  heavily  on  silage,  bulls  are  said  to 
lose  virility  and  become  slow  and  uncertain  breeders. 

Fuller  information  on  this  subject  is  given  in  Chapter  V  of 
this  book,  entitled,  "The  Use  of  Silage  in  Beef  Production." 


196  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 


Silage  for  Horses. 

Silage  has  been  fed  to  horses  and  colts  for  a  number  of  years 
with  excellent  results.  These  points  should  be  kept  in  mind 
however:  Never  feed  moldy  silag-e;  it  is  poisonous  to  horses. 
Avoid  sour  silage  made  from  immature  corn.  Feed  regularly, 
once  or  twice  a  day,  starting  in  with  a  light  feed  and  gradually 
increasing  as  the  animals  become  accustomed  to  the  food. 

The  succulence  of  silage  produces  as  good  an  effect  on  horses 
in  the  winter  months  as  do  the  fresh  spring  pastures.  Some 
farmers  feed  it  mixed  with  cut  straw,  two  thirds  of  straw  and 
one-third  of  silage,  and  feed  all  the  horses  will  eat  of  this 
mixed  feed.  Some  horses  object  to  silage  at  first  on  account  of 
its  peculiar  odor,  but  by  sprinkling  some  oats  or  bran  on  top 
of  the  silage  and  feeding  only  very  small  amounts  to  begin  with, 
they  soon  learn  to  eat  and  relish  it.  Other  horses  take  it 
willingly  from  the  beginning.  Horses  not  working  may  be  fed 
larger  quantities  than  work  horses,  but  in  neither  case  should 
the  silage  form  more  than  a  portion  of  the  coarse  feed  given 
the  horses.  Silage-fed  horses  will  look  well  and  come  out  in  the 
spring  in  better  condition  than  when  fed  almost  any  other  food. 

Professor  Cook  says  in  regard  to  silage  as  a  horse  food: 
"It  has  been  suggested  by  even  men  of  high  scientific  attainments 
that  silage  is  pre-eminently  the  food  for  cattle  and  not  for  othe^r 
farm  stock.  This  is  certainly  a  mistake.  If  we  raise  fall  colts, 
which  I  find  very  profitable,  then  silage  is  just  what  we  need, 
and  will  enable  us  to  produce  colts  as  excellent  as  though 
dropped  in  the  spring.  This  gives  us  our  brood  mares  in  first- 
class  trim  for  the  hard  summer's  work.  I  find  silage  just  as 
good  for  young  colts  and  other  horses." 

An  extensive  Michigan  farmer  and  horse  breeder  gives  his 
experience  in  regard  to  silage  for  horses  as  follows: 

"Last  year  we  had  nearly  two  hundred  horses,  including 
Clydesdales,  standard-bred  trotters,  and  Shetland  ponies.  They 
were  wintered  entirely  upon  straw  and  corn  silage,  and  this  in 
face  of  the  fact  that  I  had  read  a  long  article  in  a  prominent 
horse  journal  cautioning  farmers  from  the  use  of  silage,  and 
citing  instances  where  many  animals  had  died,  and  brood  mares 
had  aborted  from  the  liberal  use  of  corn  silage. 


SILAGE  FOR  HORSES.  197 

"Desiring  to  test  the  matter  to  the  fullest  extent,  our  stallions 
and  brood  mares,  as  well  as  all  the  young  stock,  we  fed  two 
full  rations  of  silage  daily,  and  one  liberal  ration  of  wheat  or 
oat  straw.  The  result  with  our  brood  mares  was  most  phenom- 
enal, for  we  now  have  to  represent  every  mare  that  was  in  foal 
on  the  farm  a  weanling,  strong  and  vigorous,  and  apparently 
right  in  every  way,  with  only  one  exception,  where  the  colt  was 
lost  by  accident.  Of  course  there  may  have  been  something  in 
the  season  more  favorable  than  usual,  but  this  was  the  first 
year  in  my  experience  when  every  colt  dropped  on  the  farm  was 
saved." 

The  following  experience  as  to  the  value  of  silage  as  a  food 
for  horses  and  other  farm  animals  comes  from  the  Ohio  Station: 
"Our  silo  was  planned  and  filled  with  special  reference  to  our 
dairy  stock,  but  after  opening  the  silo  we  decided  to  try  feeding 
the  silage  to  our  horses,  calves  and  hogs.  The  result  was 
eminently  satisfactory.  We  did  not  find  a  cow,  calf,  horse,  colt, 
or  hog  that  refused  to  eat,  or  that,  did  not  eat  it  with  apparent 
relish,  not  only  for  a  few  days,  but  for  full  two  months.  The 
horses  were  given  one  feed  of  twenty  pounds  each  per  day  in 
place  of  the  usual  amount  of  hay,  for  the  period  above  named, 
and  it  was  certainly  a  benefit.  Their  appetites  were  sharpened, 
and  the  healthfulness  of  the  food  was  further  manifest  in  the 
new  coat  of  hair  which  came  with  the  usual  spring  shedding. 
The  coat  was  glossy,  the  skin  loose,  and  the  general  appearance 
was  that  of  horses  running  upon  pasture." 

Many  letters  have  appeared  in  Breeders'  Gazette  on  this  sub- 
ject. An  Iowa  writer,  A.  L.  Mason,  states  that  he  has  fed 
silage  to  horses  for  seven  winters  with  no  injurious  effects.'  He 
fed  once  a  day,  from  20  to  40  pounds  according  to  size  of  horse 
and  10  pounds  to  suckling  colts.  Another  Iowa  writer,  F.  A. 
Huddlestum,  after  five  years'  feeding,  to  stallions,  mares  in 
foal  and  colts,  reports  excellent  results.  He  says:  "I  am  now 
wintering  20  draft  brood  mares  outdoors  and  their  ration  is  20 
pounds  silage  once  a  day,  five  ears  corn  twice  a  day,  and  some 
tame  hay  in  the  rack.  I  have  never  seen  any  that  looked  better." 
Geo.  McLeod,  of  Iowa,  writes:  "We  keep  about  50  horses  and  all 
are  fed  silage.  The  work  horses  are  each  fed  a  bushel  basketful 
and  so  is  the  Shire  stallion.  No  bad  effects.  The  boys  are 
careful  that  no  moldy  silage  goes  to  the  horses."  Another  writer, 
B.  D.  R.,  says:  "I  am  feeding  9  head,  including  a  registered 


198  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

stallion,  five  colts  of  various  ages  and  three  work  horses.  I  give 
each  horse  and  colt  a  peck  of  silage  a  day."  These  writers  with- 
out exception  warn  against  the  use  of  moldy  silage. 

Mr.  P.  W.  Moir,  a  well  known  Iowa  breeder  of  pure  bred 
horses,  erected  a  large  silo  in  1911  for  feeding  horses  exclusively. 
As  to  results  he  stated  that  "It  has  been  very  satisfactory,  as  I 
had  the  very  choicest  of  silage.  We  fed  it  to  the  brood  mares, 
as  well  as  the  colts,  and  they  did  fine  with  it  and  came  out  in 
the  spring  looking  good.  Other  neighbors  around  here  feed  it  and 
I  have  heard  of  no  bad  results.  I  have  broken  up  one  of  my 
pastures,  as  I  can  get  along  without  the  grass  and  I  expect  to 
have  enough  corn  from  this  pasture  to  fill  both  silos." 

Silage  for  Mules. — What  has  been  said  about  silage  as  a 
food  for  horses  will  most  likely  apply  equally  well  to  mules, 
although  only  very  limited  experience  has  so  far  been  gained 
with  silage  for  this  class  of  farm  animals. 

Results  of  a  test  made  at  the  N.  C.  Experiment  Station, 
Raleigh,  N.  C.,  showed  "that  work  mules  will  eat  20  to  30  pounds 
of  corn  silage  per  day  and  when  the  ration  is  properly  balanced 
by  the  use  of  other  feed-stuffs  that  2y2  to  3  Ibs.  of  silage  could  be 
substituted  for  1  Ib.  of  clover  hay  or  cow  pea  hay.  Results  show 
that  silage  and  ear  corn  or  silage  or  corn  and  cobmeal  is  not  so 
satisfactory  as  silage  and  a  grain  ration  higher  in  protein  value 
such  as  bran,  cottonseed  meal  or  oilmeal." 

Silage  for  Sheep- 

Despite  the  popular  conception  that  silage  is  more  or  less  dan- 
gerous to  feed  to  sheep,  especially  breeding  ewes,  its  great  value 
and  entire  safety  has  been  demonstrated  as  a  fact  by  long  and 
careful  tests  at  the  experiment  stations,  notably  at  the  Purdue 
Station.  The  evidence  is  conclusive  that  from  the  standpoints  of 
palatability,  succulence  and  economy  no  other  feed  can  compare 
with  good  silage.  Succulence,  probably  the  most  important  ele- 
ment in  the  winter  ration  of  the  breeding  ewe,  is  necessary  to 
secure  or  maintain  the  freshness,  vigor  and  health  so  desirable  in 
the  flock. 

Though  good  silage  may  be  a  safe  and  desirable  feed,  it  does 
not  follow  that  silage  which  is  very  acid,  spoiled  or  decomposed, 


SILAGE  FOR  SHEEP.  199 

is  not  dangerous  or  even  deadly  in  its  effects  when  fed  to  lambs. 
Some  time  after  the  close  of  one  of  the  early  experiments  at 
Purdue,  four  lambs  died  from  the  effects,  supposedly  of  eating 
spoiled  silage.  The  cause  was  assigned  to  poisonous  products 
resulting  from  decomposition  of  the  silage,  which  was  favored 
by  the  exposure  of  the  silage  to  the  air  in  warm  weather  and  the 
low  condition  of  the  silo. 

Feeding  an  abnormal  amount  of  silage,  close  confinement,  lack 
of  exercise  and  lack  of  an  experienced  shepherd  to  handle  the  ewes 
at  lambing  time  often  prevent  maximum  results,  and  silage  feeding 
has  for  this  reason  been  unjustly  condemned  at  times. 

The  Indiana  Station  has  been  conducting  experiments  with 
feeding  silage  to  pregnant  ewes  since  1907.  A  three  year  experi- 
ment was  commenced  that  year  with  two  lots  of  ewes,  one  lot 
being  fed  silage  along  with  hay  and  grain  and  the  other  lot  hay 
and  more  grain,  but  no  silage.  The  silage  ration  was  limited  the 
first  year,  increased  to  4  pounds  the  second  year,  and  the  third 
year  the  ewes  were  given  all  they  could  clean  up,  which  was  prac- 
tically 4.6  pounds.  Even  with  this  amount  no  harmful  results 
were  observed  either  in  the  ewes  or  the  lambs. 

The  experiment  showed  that  the  general  thrift  and  appetite 
of  the  silage  ewes  was  superior  to  that  of  the  lots  fed  hay  and 
grain  alone.  The  former  made  each  year  a  larger  gain  over  winter 
than  did  those  on  dry  feed.  The  latter  averaged  for  the  three 
years  a  gain  of  6  pounds,  while  the  silage  ewes  gained  13.75 
pounds,  or  more  than  twice  as  much.  Yet  the  Station  Bulletin 
states  definitely  that  this  gain  was  not  mere  fat  like  corn  feeding 
will  produce,  but  that  the  ewes  were  in  good  condition  to  produce 
strong,  vigorous  lambs.  It  was  a  noticeable  fact,  that  "right 
straight  through  the  whole  three  years,  the  lambs  from  the  ewes 
having  the  succulent  feed,  i.  e.,  silage,  averaged  nearly  ten  per 
cent,  larger  at  birth.  As  to  the  cost  of  feed,  the  ration  including 
silage  proved  the  more  economical,  while  more  satisfactory  results 
were  obtained.  The  lambs  from  these  two  lots  of  ewes  were  all 
fed  out  for  an  early  market,  and  those  from  each  lot  did  equally 
well,  gaining  nearly  half  a  pound  per  day  until  they  were  sold." 

Prof.  King  says  that  the  same  station  has  also  "tested  the  value 
of  corn  silage  for  fattening  lambs  and  found  that  the  lambs  were 
very  easily  kept  on  feed,  made  as  rapid  gains  and  finished  as  well 


200  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

as  lambs  fed  rations  not  containing  silage.  The  average  of  three 
trials  at  that  station  showed  that  there  was  an  average  reduction 
in  cost  of  gain  of  61  cents  per  hundred  pounds." 

Wiliam  Foy,  of  Foy  &  Townsend,  Sycamore,  111.,  probably  the 
most  extensive  silage  feeders  in  the  world,  feeds  20,000  sheep  and 
lambs  a  year  on  his  1400  acre  farm.  He  makes  silage  his  principal 
feed  and  uses  thousands  -of  tons.  Even  during  the  winter  of 
1910-11,  so  disastrous  in  mutton  feeding  operations,  his  stock  actu- 
ally paid  out.  Foy  said:  "The  use  of  silage  last  winter  averted 
a  loss  of  approximately  $1  per  head  on  the  entire  output  of  our 
plant;  in  other  words,  it  earned  us  that  much  money.  *  *  * 
You  cannot  feed  hay  to  sheep  or  cattle  at  $15  to  $17' a  ton.  Even 
if  it  were  possible,  that  policy  would  be  questionable  when  a  ton 
of  silage  produces  as  many  pounds  of  gain  as  a  ton  of  hay  and 
costs  $3  to  $4.  Weight  for  weight,  I  prefer  silage,  as  it  is  more 
palatable.  With  hay  at  current  abnormal  prices  we  would  have 
been  forced  out  of  business  had  silage  not  been  available." 

Speaking  of  the  advantages  ".of  silage,  Mr.  Foy  says:  "It  saves 
one-third  of  the  corn  that  would  be  needed  if  only  hay  was  used 
as  roughage,  and  obviates  the  use  of  hay  entirely.  The  stock  is 
maintained  in  healthy  condition;  in  fact,  I  never  had  a  sick  sheep 
or  even  a  lamb  while  feeding  silage.  When  starting  them  on  it, 
care  is  necessary,  but  once  accustomed  to  the  feed,  they  thrive. 
I  figure  at  a  10-ton  yield  the  product  of  an  acre  of  silage  to  be 
worth  $50,  and  allowing  $15  for  cost  of  production  we  get  ap- 
proximately $35  out  of  an  acre  of  corn.  What  the  resultant 
manure  pile  is  worth,  is  open  to  conjecture.  I  will  say,  however, 
that  none  of  mine  is  for  sale,  and  I  could  dispose  of  every  pound 
at  $1  per  ton.  The  principal  disadvantage  is  the  lack  of  finishing 
quality  and  extra  time  needed  to  get  the  stock  in  marketable 
condition.  This  can  be  remedied  by  using  corn  or  corn  meal  to 
put  on  a  hard  finish  and  it  is  our  present  practice.  Saving  one- 
third  the  corn  is  an  item  not  to  be  sneezed  at  in  these  days  cf 
big  feed  bills  and  narrow  margins." 

Anthony  Gardner  of  Hutchinson,  Kans.,  one  of  the  largest  sheep 
feeders  in  the  state,  says  silos  are  indispensable.  He  has  two 
concrete  silos  aggregating  1300  tons  capacity  and  uses  silage  for 
sheep  exclusively.  It  not  only  increases  his  profits  per  lamb,  but 
enables  him  to  more  than  double  his  operations.  During  the 


SILAGE  FOR  SHEEP.  201 

winter  of  1911-12,  Mr.  Gardner  fattened  10,000  lambs  on  silage. 
Without  this  feed,  he  states  that  4,000  would  have  been  his  limit. 
Aside  from  this  feature  the  silo  saved  his  corn  crop  from  the  hot 
winds  of  1911  and  allowed  him  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  kaflr 
he  grew  that  season.  Mr.  Gardner's  feeding  operations  are  on  $100 
land — too  high-priced  for  pasturage  or  range  purposes.  In  the  fall 
of  1910  his  silos  were  filled  with  corn,  and  7,500  lambs  were  fat- 
tened 'with  ensilage  and  grain.  Corn  was  also  the  principal  crop 
in  1911,  but  to  test  out  kafir,  he  topped  off  one  of  the  silos  with 
100  tons  of  it,  and  it  proved  so  successful  that  in  1912  he  planted 
80  acres  to  kafir  and  cow  peas  sowed  together,  which  on  account 
of  the  increased  bulk  is  about  a  third  of  what  it  took  in  acreage  to 
fill  with  last  year's  corn  crop.  Mr.  Gardner's  silos  cost  about 
$1,000  each,  and  their  owner  figures  that  they  cut  nearly  a  third  off 
the  cost  of  his  yearly  feeding  operations.  He  feeds  ordinarily  two 
pounds  of  silage  and  1%  pounds  of  grain  a  day  (corn,  bran  and 
cottonseed  meal)  with  kafir  fodder  for  roughage. 

After  marketing  his  10,000  lambs  early  in  1912,  he  was  offered 
$6.50  a  ton  for  silage  remaining  on  hand,  but  instead  of  selling,  he 
picked  up  a  bunch  of  1,800  poorly  wintered  lambs  at  low  figures 
which  by  means  of  silage  he  estimated  later  in  the  season  would 
bring  him  a  profit  of  about  $1.50  per  head. 

Silage  is  looked  upon  with  great  favor  among  sheep  men,  says 
Prof.  Woll  in  his  Book  on  Silage;  sheep  do  well  on  it,  and  silage- 
fed  ewes  drop  their  lambs  in  the  spring  without  trouble,  the  lambs 
being  strong  and  vigorous.  Silage  containing  a  good  deal  of  corn 
is  not  well  adapted  for  breeding  stock,  as  it  is  too  fattening;  for 
fattening  stock,  on  the  other  hand,  much  corn  in  the  silage  is  an 
advantage.  Sheep  may  be  fed  a  couple  of  pounds  of  silage  a  day 
and  not  to  exceed  five  or  six  pounds  per  head.  Prof.  Cook  reports 
as  follows  in  regard  to  the  value  of  silage  for  sheep:  "Formerly 
I  was  much  troubled  to  raise  lambs  from  grade  Merino  ewes.  Of 
late  this  trouble  has  almost  ceased.  Last  spring  I  hardly  lost  a 
lamb.  While  ensilage  may  not  be  the  entire  cause  of  the  change, 
I  believe  it  is  the  main  cause.  It  is  positively  proved  that  ensilage 
is  a  most  valuable  food  material,  when  properly  fed,  for  all  our 
domestic  animals." 

Mr.  J.  M.  Turner  of  Michigan  says  concerning  silage  for  sheep: 
"Of  late  years  we  have  annually  put  up  3,200  tons  of  corn  ensilage, 


202  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

and  this  has  been  the  principal  ration  of  all  the  live  stock  at 
Spring-dale  Farm,  our  Shropshire  sheep  having  been  maintained  on 
a  ration  of  ensilage  night  and  morning,  coupled  with  a  small  ra- 
tion of  clover  hay  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  This  we  found  to  fully 
meet  the  requirements  of  our  flock  until  after  lambing,  from  which 
time  forward  we  of  course  added  liberal  rations  of  wheat  bran, 
oats,  and  old-process  linseed  meal  to  the  ewes,  with  a  view  of 
increasing  their  flow  of  milk  and  bringing  forward  the  lambs  in  the 
most  vigorous  possible  condition.  Our  flock-master  was  somewhat 
anxious  until  after  the  lambs  dropped,  but  now  that  he  saved  196 
lambs  from  122  ewes,  his  face  is  wreathed  in  smiles,  and  he  gives 
the  ensilage  system  the  strongest  endorsement." 

O.  C.  Gregg,  superintendent  of  Farmers'  Institutes  for  Minne- 
sota, has  been  conducting  some  experiments  on  feeding  silage  to 
sheep.  He  gives  the  result  in  one  of  our  American  exchanges  as 
follows: 

"The  e\ves  are  beautiful  to  look  at,  square  on  the  back,  bright 
of  eye,  active  in  appearance,  and  when  the  time  comes  for  the 
feeding  of  silage  they  are  anxious  for  their  feed,  and  in  case  there 
is  any  lapse  in  time,  they  soon  make  their  w^ants  known  by  bleat- 
ing about  the  troughs.  The  flock  has  been  fed  silage  and  good  hay 
in  the  morning,  with  oat  hay  in  reasonable  abundance  in  the  after- 
noon and  evening.  We  have  about  ninety  head  of  breeding  ewes, 
including  the  lambs  referred  to,  and  they  have  been  fed  two  grain 
sacks  full  of  silage  each  day.  This  is  not  by  any  means  heavy 
feeding,  and  it  might  be  increased  in  quantity.  This  is  a  matter 
which  we  must  learn  from  experience.  We  have  fed  the  silage 
with  care,  not  knowing  what  the  results  would  be  if  fed  heavily." 


Silage  for  Swine- 


The  testimony  concerning  the  value  of  silage  as  a  food  for 
swine  is  conflicting,  both  favorable  and  unfavorable  reports  being- 
at  hand.  Many  farmers  have  tried  feeding  it  to  their  hogs,  but 
without  success.  On  the  other  hand,  a  number  of  hog-raisers  have 
had  good  success  with  silage,  and  feed  it  regularly  to  their  swine. 
It  is  possible  that  the  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  silage  and  of 
the  methods  of  feeding  practiced  explain  the  diversity  of  opinions 
formed  concerning  silage  as  hog  food.  Col.  F.  D.  Curtiss,  the  great 


SILAGE  FOR  SWINE.  203 

American  authority  on  the  swine  industry,  states  that  silage  is 
valuable  to  add  to  the  winter  rations  of  our  swine.  Mr.  J.  W. 
Pierce  of  Indiana  writes  in  regard  to  silage  for  hogs:  ".We  have 
fed  our  sows,  about  twenty-five  in  number,  for  four  winters,  equal 
parts  of  ensilage  and  corn  meal  put  into  a  cooker,  and  brought  up 
to  a  steaming  state.  It  has  proved  to  be  very  beneficial  to  them. 
It  keeps  up  the  flow  of  milk  of  the  sows  that  are  nursing  the 
young,  equal  to  when  they  are  running  on  clover.  We  find,  too, 
when  the  pigs  are  farrowed,  they  become  more  robust,  and  take 
to  nursing  much  sooner  and  better  than  they  did  in  winters  when 
fed  on  an  exclusively  dry  diet.  We  also  feed  it  to  our  sheep.  To 
sixty  head  we  put  out  about  six  bushels  of  ensilage."  Young  pigs 
are  exceedingly  fond  of  silage.  Feeding  experiments  conducted  at 
Virginia  Experiment  Station  show  that  silage  is  an  economical 
maintenance  feed  for  hogs,  when  fed  in  connection  with  a  little 
corn,  but  not  when  fed  alone. 

In  feeding  silage  to  hogs,  care  should  be  taken  to  feed  only 
very  little,  a  pound  or  so,  at  the  start,  mixing  it  with  corn  meal, 
shorts,  or  other  concentrated  feeds.  The  diet  of  the  hog  should  be 
largely  made  up  of  easily  digested  grain  food;  bulky,  coarse  feeds 
like  silage  can  only  be  fed  to  advantage  in  small  quantities,  not  to 
exceed  three  or  four  pounds  per  head  per  day.  As  in  case  of  breed- 
ing ewes,  silage  will  give  good  results  when  fed  with  care  to 
brood  sows,  keeping  the  system  in  order,  and  producing  a  good 
flow  of  milk. 


Silage  for  Poultry- 


But  little  experience  is  at  hand  as  to  the  use  of  silage  as  a  poul- 
try food;  some  farmers,  however,  are  feeding  a  little  silage  to  their 
poultry  with  good  success.  Only  small  quantities  should,  of  course, 
be  fed,  and  it  is  beneficial  as  a  stimulant  and  a  regulator,  as  much 
as  food.  A  poultry  raiser  writes  as  follows  in  Orange  Judd  Farmer, 
concerning  his  experience  in  making  and  feeding  silage  to  fowls. 
Devices  similar  to  that  here  described  have  repeatedly  been  ex- 
plained in  the  agricultural  press:  "Clover  and  corn  silage  is  one 
of  the  best  winter  foods  for  poultry  raisers.  Let  me  tell  you  how 
to  build  four  silos  for  $1.  Buy  four  coal-oil  barrels  at  the  drug 
store,  burn  them  out  on  the  inside,  and  take  the  heads  out.  Go  to 
the  clover  field  when  the  second  crop  of  the  small  June  clover  is 


204  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGJ3. 

in  bloom,  and  cut  one-half  to  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  length, 
also  one-half  ton  of  sweet  corn,  and  run  this  through  the 
feed  cutter.  Put  into  the  barrel  a  layer  of  clover,  then  a  layer 
of  corn.  Having  done  this,  t^,ke  a  common  building  jack-screw 
and  press  the  silage  down  as  firmly  as  possible.  Then  put  on  this 
a  very  light  sprinkling  of  pulverized  charcoal,  and  Keep  on  putting 
in  clover  and  corn  until  you  get  the  barrel  as  full  as  will  admit  of 
the  cover  being  put  back.  After  your  four  barrel  silos  are  filled, 
roll  them  out  beside  the  barn,  and  cover  them  with  horse  manure, 
allowing  them  to  remain  there  thirty  days.  Then  put  them  away, 
covering  with  cut  straw  or  hay.  When  the  cold,  chilling  winds  of 
December  come,  open  one  of  these  'poultrymen's  silos,'  take  about 
twenty  pounds  for  one  hundred  hens,  add  equal  parts  of  potatoes, 
ground  oats,  and  winter  rye,  place  same  in  a  kettle  and  bring  to  a 
boiling  state.  Feed  warm  in  the  morning  and  the  result  will  be 
that  you  will  be  enabled  to  market  seven  or  eight  dozen  eggs  per 
day  from  one  hundred  hens  through  the  winter,  when  eggs  bring 
good  returns." 

Additional  Testimony  as  to  the  Value  of  Silage. 

Corn  silage  compared  with  root  crops. — Root  crops  are  no« 
grown  to  any  large  extent  in  this  country,  but  occasionally  an  old- 
country  farmer  will  grow  roots  for  his  stock,  because  his  father 
did  so,  and  his  grandfather  and  great-grandfather  before  him. 
This  is  what  a  well-known  English  writer,  H.  Henry  Rew,  says 
as  to  the  comparative  value  of  roots  and  silage,  from  the  stand- 
point of  an  English  farmer: 

"The  root  crop  has,  for  about  a  century  and  a  half,  formed  the 
keystone  of  arable  farming;  yet  it  is  the  root  crop  whose  position 
is  most  boldly  challenged  by  silage.  No  doubt  roots  are  expensive 
— say  £10  per  acre  as  the  cost  of  producing  an  ordinary  crop  of 
turnips — and  precarious,  as  the  experience  of  the  winter  of  1887-8 
has  once  more  been  notably  exemplified  in  many  parts  of  the 
country.  In  a  suggestive  article  in  the  Farming  World  Almanac 
for  1888,  Mr.  Primrose  McConnell  discusses  the  question:  'Are 
Turnips  a  Necessary  Crop?'  and  sums  up  his  answer  in  the  follow- 
ing definite  conclusion: 

"  'Everything,  in  short,  is  against  the  use  of  roots,  either  as  a 


CORN  SILAGE  COMPARED  TO  ROOTS.  205 

cheap  and  desirable  food  for  any  kind  of  live  stock,  as  a  crop  suit- 
ed for  the  fallow  break,  which  cleans  the  land  at  little  outlay,  or 
as  one  which  preserves  or  increases  the  fertility  of  the  soil.' 

"If  the  growth  of  turnips  is  abandoned  or  restricted,  ensilage 
comes  in  usually  to  assist  the  farmer  in  supplying  their  place. 
*  *  *  When  one  comes  to  compare  the  cultivation  of  silage 
crops  with  that  of  roots,  there  are  two  essential  points  in  favor  of 
the  former.  One  is  their  smaller  expense,  and  the  other  is  their 
practical  certainty.  The  farmer  who  makes  silage  can  make  cer- 
tain of  his  winter  store  of  food,  whereas  he  who  has  only  his  root 
crop  may  find  himself  left  in  the  lurch  at  a  time  when  there  is  lit- 
tle chance  of  making  other  provision." 

We  have  accurate  information  as  to  the  yields  and  cost  of  pro- 
duction of  roots  and  corn  silage  in  this  country  from  a  number  of 
American  experiment  stations.  This  shows  that  the  tonnage  of 
green  or  succulent  feed  per  acre  is  not  materially  different  in  case 
of  the  two  crops,  generally  speaking.  But  when  the  quantities  of 
dry  matter  harvested  in  the  crop  are  considered,  the  corn  has  been 
found  to  yield  about  twice  as  much  as  the  ordinary  root  crops. 
According  to  data  published  by  the  Pennsylvania  Station,  the  cost 
of  an  acre  of  beets  in  the  pit  amounts  to  about  $56,  and  of  an  acre 
of  corn  in  the  silo  a.bout  $21,  only  half  the  quantities  of  food  ma- 
terials obtained,  and  at  more  than  double  the  cost. 

When  the  feeding  value  of  these  two  crops  has  been  compared, 
as  has  been  the  case  in  numerous  trials  at  experiment  stations,  it 
has  been  found  that  the  dry  matter  of  beets  certainly  has  no 
higher,  and  in  many  cases  has  been  found  to  have  a  lower,  value 
than  that  of  corn  silage;  the  general  conclusion  to  be  drawn,  there- 
fore, is  that  "beets  cost  more  to  grow,  harvest  and  store,  yield  less 
per  acre,  and  produce  at  best  no  more  and  no  better  milk  or  other 
farm  product  than  corn  silage." 

Corn  silage  compared  with  hay. — A  ton  and  a  half  of  hay  per 
acre  is  generally  considered  a  good  average  crop  in  humid  regions. 
Since  hay  contains  about  86  per  cent,  dry  matter,  a  crop  of  1% 
tons  means  2,580  pounds  of  dry  matter.  Against  this  yield  we 
have  yields  of  5,000  to  9,000  pounds  of  dry  matter,  or  twice  to 
three  and  a  half  times  as  much,  in  case  of  fodder  corn.  An  aver- 
age crop  of  green  fodder  will  weigh  twelve  tons  of  Northern  varie- 


206  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

ties  and  eighteen  tons  of  Southern  varieties.  Estimating  the  per- 
centage of  dry  matter  in  the  former  at  30  per  cent,,  and  in  the 
latter  at  20  per  cent.,  we  shall  have  in  either  case  a  yield  of  7,200 
pounds  of  dry  matter.  If  we  allow  for  10  per  cent,  of  loss  of  dry 
matter  in  the  silo  there  is  still  6,500  pounds  of  dry  matter  to  be 
credited  to  the  corn.  The  expense  of  growing  the  corn  crop  is,  of 
course,  higher  than  that  of  growing  hay,  but  by  no  means  suffi- 
ciently so  to  offset  the  larger  yields.  It  is  a  fact  generally  con- 
ceded by  all  who  have  given  the  subject  any  study,  that  the  hay 
crop  is  the  most  expensive  crop  used  for  the  feeding  of  our  farm 
animals. 

The  late  Sir  John  B.  Lawes,  of  Rothamsted  Experiment  Station 
(England)  said,  respecting  the  relative  value  of  hay  and  (grass) 
silage:  "It  is  probable  that  when  both  (i.  e.,  hay  and  silage)  are  of 
the  very  best  quality  that  can  be  made,  if  part  of  the  grass  is  cut 
and  placed  in  the  silo,  and  another  part  is  secured  in  the  stack 
without  rain,  one  might  prove  as  good  food  as  the  other.  But  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  while  the  production  of  good  hay  is  a 
matter  of  uncertainty — from  the  elements  of  success  being  beyond 
the  control  of  the  farmer — good  silage,  by  taking  proper  precau- 
tions, can  be  made  with  certainty." 

A  few  feeding  experiments  with  corn  silage  vs.  hay  will  be 
mentioned  in  the  following: 

In  an  experiment  with  milch  cows  conducted  at  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Station,  the  silage  ration,  containing  16.45  pounds  of  digesti- 
ble matter,  produced  21.0  pounds  of  milk,  and  the  hay  ration,  con- 
taining 16.83  pounds  digestible  matter,  produced  18.4  pounds  milk; 
calculating  the  quantities  of  milk  produced  by  100  pounds  of  di- 
gestible matter  in  either  case,  we  find  on  the  silage  ration,  127.7 
pounds  of  milk,  on  the  hay  ration,  109.3  pounds,  or  17  per  cent,  in 
favor  of  the  silage  ration. 

In  a  feeding  experiment  with  milch  cows  at  the  Maine  Station, 
in  which  silage  likewise  was  compared  with  hay,  the  addition  of 
silage  to  the  ration  resulted  in  a  somewhat  increased  production 
of  milk  solids,  which  was  not  caused  by  an  increase  in  the  digesti- 
ble food  materials  eaten,  but  which  must  have  been  due  either  to 
the  superior  value  of  the  nutrients  of  the  silage  over  those  of  the 
hay  or  to  the  general  psychological  effect  of  feeding  a  great  vari- 
ety of  foods.  8.8  pounds  of  silage  proved  to  be  somewhat  superior 


CORN  SILAGE  COMPARED  TO  HAY.  207 

to  1.98  pounds  of  hay  (mostly  timothy),  the  quantity  of  digestible 
material  being  the  same  in  the  two  cases. 

In  another  experiment,  conducted  at  the  same  station,  where 
silage  was  compared  with  hay  for  steers,  a  pound  of  digestible 
matter  from  the  corn  silage  produced  somewhat  more  growth  than 
a  pound  of  digestible  matter  from  timothy  hay.  The  difference 
was  small,  however,  amounting  in  the  case  of  the  last  two  periods, 
where  the  more  accurate  comparison  is  possible,  to  an  increased 
growth  of  only  15  pounds  of  live  weight  for  each  ton  of  silage  fed. 

Corn  silage  compared  with  fodder  corn. — The  cost  of  produc- 
tion is  the  same  for  the  green  fodder  up  to  the  time  of  siloing,  in 
case  of  both  systems;  as  against  the  expense  of  siloing  the  crop 
comes  that  of  shocking,  and  later  on,  placing  the  fodder  under 
shelter  in  the  field-curing  process;  further  husking,  cribbing,  and 
grinding  the  corn,  and  cutting  the  corn  stalks,  since  this  is  the 
most  economical  way  of  handling  the  crop,  and  the  only  way  in 
which  it  can  be  fully  utilized  so  as  to  be  of  as  great  value  as  pos- 
sible for  dry  fodder.  Professor  King  found  the  cost  of  placing 
corn  in  the  silo  to  be  58. G  cents  per  ton,  on  the  average  for  five 
Wisconsin  farms,  or,  adding  to  this  amount,  interest  and  taxes  on 
the  silo  investment,  and  insurance  and  maintenance  of  silo  per  ton, 
73.2  cents.  The  expense  of  shocking  and  sheltering  the  cured  fod- 
der, and  later  cutting  the  same,  will  greatly  exceed  that  of  siloing 
the  crop;  to  obtain  the  full  value  in  feeding  the  ear  corn,  it  must, 
furthermore,  in  most  cases,  be  ground,  costing  ten  cents  or  more 
a  bushel  of  70  Ibs.  The  advantage  is,  therefore,  decidedly  with  the 
siloed  fodder  in  economy  of  handling,  as  well  as  in  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction. 

The  comparative  feeding  value  of  corn  silage  and  fodder  corn 
has  been  determined  in  a  large  number  of  trials  at  different  experi- 
ment stations.  The  earlier  ones  of  these  experiments  were  made 
with  only  a  couple  of  animals  each,  and  no  reliance  can,  therefore, 
be  placed  on  the  results  obtained  in  any  single  experiment.  In  the 
later  experiments  a  large  number  of  cows  have  been  included,  and 
these  have  been  continued  for  sufficiently  long  time  to  show  what 
the  animals  could  do  on  each  feed. 

Comparative  Cost  of  Producing  Silage. — The  Oregon  Agricul- 
tural College  Bulletin  No.  136,  comparing  the  total  digestible  nu- 
trients of  silage  with  other  succulent  feeds  based  largely  on  figures 


208 


HOW  TO  FEED   SILAGE. 


from  Henry's  "Feeds  and  Feeding"  shows  that  one  ton  of  corn 
silage  is  equal  to  1.0  ton  of  artichokes,  1.4  tons  of  parsnips,  1.5 
tons  of  sugar  beets,  1.8  tons  of  rutabagas,  1.8  tons  of  carrots,  2.2 
tons  of  turnips,  2.4  tons  of  mangels,  or  2.3  tons  of  kale.  These 
figures  do  not  take  into  consideration  the  palatability  or  the  stim- 
ulation on  milk  secretion  that  any  of  these  feeds  might  exert. 

Table  XIV.,  compiled  by  the  same  station,  may  be  of  interest: 

Table   XIV. — Cost  of   Production   of  One   Acre   of  Succulent  Crops 
in   Western   Oregon. 


Kale. 

Roots. 

Corn 
Silage. 

Value  of  manure,  at  $1.00  per  load  
Applying-  manure,  at  30c  per  load  
Double  disking  . 

$12.00 
3.60 
75 

$12.00 
3.60 

75 

$   6.00 
1.80 
75 

Plowing     

2  00 

2  00 

2  00 

Preparation  of  Seed  Bed  

1.40 

1  40 

1  00 

Seed    

25 

1  20 

50 

Planting    

5  00 

50 

*>0 

Cultivation     

2  00 

7  00 

2  00 

Harvest  —  (corn   in   silo)  

17  50 

15  00 

10  00 

Depreciation    and    interest    on    machinery 
and  storage   .  .      

60 

60 

3  75 

Average   yield  per  acre    (tons) 

$45.10 
25 

$44.05 
20 

$28.30 
10 

Cost  per  ton  

$    3  80 

$    2  90 

$    2  83 

Average  yield  per  acre  digestible   nutri- 
ents (pounds)    

3480 

3440 

3°60 

Cost  per  100  pounds  digestible  nutrients. 

$   1.30 

$   1.28 

$   0.86 

The  above  table  shows  the  cost  of  preparing  the  seed  bed,  seed- 
ing, harvesting,  and  interest  and  depreciation  on  machinery,  and 
storage  to  be  as  follows:  For  one  acre  of  kale,  $45.10;  for  one 
acre  of  roots,  $44.05;  and  for  one  acre  of  corn,  $28.30.  The  cost 
per  ton  of  the  kale  is  least,  and  that  of  the  corn  silage  is  greatest, 
but  the  cost  per  hundred  pounds  of  digestible  nutrients  in  the  kale 
is  51  per  cent,  more,  and  in  the  roots,  47  per  cent,  more,  than  in  the 
corn  silage. 

Table  XV.  gives  an  outline  for  arriving  at  the  cost  of  producing 
silage  from  start  to  finish.  The  table  was  prepared  by  the  Texas 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station.  Many  farmers  in  figuring  the 
cost  of  producing  crops  fail  to  consider  the  value  of  their  own 
labor,  the  rent  of  the  land,  the  depreciation  of  fences  surrounding 


COMPARATIVE  COST   OP  PRODUCING  SILAGE.         209 

the  crop,  etc.     For  example,  the  depreciation  of  a  fence  estimated 
to  last  ten  years  should  be  figured  at  10  per  cent,  of  its  value. 


Table  XV. — Outline  for  Arriving  at  the  Cost  of  Producing  Silage. 


Acres. 

Dr. 

Cr. 

Plowing'  (breaking")  at  $                per  acre 

• 

Discing-  at  $  per  acre  
Harrowing  at   $                 per   acre  

Commercial  fertilizer  ....  Ibs.  at  $.  .  .  .  per  acre.  . 
Oth^er  fertilizer   Ibs.  at  $  per  acre.  .  . 
Planting-   at    $                 per   acre                            .  . 

Seed  at  $    per  acre          .        

First  cultivation  at  $  per  acre  

Third  cultivation  at   $                 per  acre 

Fourth  cultivation  at  $  .  .             per  acre    . 

Fifth  cultivation  at  $    ...        per  acre  

Harrowing  at   $  per  acre  

Harvesting  (row  binder)   at  $  per  acre  

Hauling-  to  silo  $                per  ton    $.  .            per  acre 

Cutting  and  filling-  silo  at  $.  .  .  .   per  ton,  $.  .  .  .   per 
acre     

Interest  on  investment  in  silo,  engine  and  cutter 
at                  per  cent                                                     .  . 

Depreciation  on  silo,  eng-ine  and  cutter  at  10  per 
cent  

Rent  of  land  at  $  per  acre  
Taxes  on  land,  implements,  silo,  eng-ine  and  cutter. 
Depreciation  of  fences    at  .  .      .  •   per  cent 

Total  cost  of  producing-  tons  silage  from 
acres  at  $               per  ton 

Total  feeding  value  of   tons  silage  from 
acres  at  $      ....  per  ton    .      ... 

Total  profit  or  loss,  per  ton  $  per  acre  $  .... 

A  few  experiments  illustrating  the  value  of  silage  as  a  stock 
food  may  be  quoted.  Prof.  Henry  fed  two  lots  of  steers  on  a  silage 
experiment.  One  lot  of  four  steers  was  fed  on  corn  silage  ex- 
clusively, and  another  similar  lot  corn  silage  with  shelled  corn. 
The  former  lot  gained  222  pounds  in  thirty-six  days,  and  the  lat- 
ter lot  535  pounds,  or  a  gain  of  1.5  pounds  per  day  per  head  for  the 
silage-fed  steers,  and  3.7  pounds  per  day  for  the  silage  and  shelled- 
corn-fed  steers.  Prof.  Emery  fed  corn  silage  and  cottonseed  meal, 
in  the  proportion  of  eight  to  one,  to  two  three-year-old  steers,  at 
the  North  Carolina  Experiment  Station.  The  gain  made  during 
thirty-two  days  was,  for  one  steer,  78  pounds,  and  for  the  other. 
$5.5  pounds,  or  2.56  pounds  per  head  per  day. 


210  HOW  TO  FEED  SILAGE. 

The  late  well-known  Wisconsin  dairyman,  Hon.  Hiram  Smith, 
in  1888  gave  the  following  testimony  concerning  the  value  of 
silage  for  milch  cows:  "My  silo  was  opened  December  1st,  and 
thirty  pounds  of  ensilage  was  fed  to  each  of  the  ninety  cows  for 
the  night's  feed,  or  2,700  pounds  per  day,  until  March  10,  one  hun- 
dred days,  or  a  total  of  155  tons,  leaving  sufficient  ensilage  to  last 
until  May  10th.  The  thirty  pounds  took  and  well  filled  the  place  of 
ten  pounds  of  good  hay.  Had  hay  been  fed  for  the  night's  feed  in 
place  of  the  ensilage,  it  would  have  required  900  pounds  per  day 
for  the  ninety  cows,  or  a  total  for  the  one  hundred  days  of  forty- 
five  tons. 

"It  would  have  required,  in  the  year  1887,  forty-five  acres  of 
meadow  to  have  produced  the  hay,  which,  if  bought  or  sold,  would 
have  amounted  to  $14.00  per  acre.  The  135  tons  of  ensilage  were 
produced  on  8%  acres  of  land,  and  had  a  feeding  value,  as  com- 
pared with  hay,  of  $74.11  per  acre."  As  the  conclusion  of  the 
whole  matter,  Mr.  Smith  stated  that  "three  cows  can  be  wintered 
seven  months  on  one  acre  producing  16  tons  of  ensilage,  while  it 
required  two  acres  of  meadow  in  the  same  year  of  1887  to  winter 
one  cow,  with  the  same  amount  of  ground  feed  in  both  cases." 

Professor  Shelton,  formerly  of  Kansas  Agricultural  College, 
gives  a  powerful  plea  for  silage  in  the  following  simple  statement: 
"The  single  fact  that  the  product  of  about  two  acres  of  ground 
kept  our  herd  of  fifty  cattle  five  weeks  with  no  other  feed  of  the 
fodder  kind,  except  a  small  ration  of  corn  fodder  given  at  noon, 
speaks  whole  cyclopedias  for  the  possibilities  of  Kansas  fields 
when  the  silo  is  called  in  as  an  adjunct." 

In  conclusion. — We  will  bring  our  discussion  of  the  silo  and  its 
importance  in  American  agriculture,  to  a  close  by  quoting  the 
opinions  of  a  few  recognized  leaders  on  agricultural  matters  as  to 
the  value  of  silos  and  silage. 

Says  Ex-Gov.  Hoard,  the  editor  of  Hoard's  Dairyman,  and  a 
noted  dairy  lecturer:  "For  dairying  of  all  the  year  around  the  silo 
is  almost  indispensable." 

Prof.  Hill,  the  director  of  Vermont  Experiment  Station:  "It  was 
long  ago  clearly  shown  that  the  most  economical  farm-grown  car- 
bohydrates raised  in  New  England  are  derived  from  the  corn  plant, 


ECONOMY  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  FEED  MATERIALS.   211 

and  that  they  are  more  economically  preserved  for  cattle  feeding 
in  the  silo  than  in  any  other  way." 

H.  C.  Wallace,  formerly  editor  Creamery  Gazette,  now  business 
manager  Wallace's  Farmer:  "While  not  an  absolute  necessity,  the 
silo  is  a  great  convenience  in  the  winter,  and  in  times  of  protracted 
dryness  almost  a  necessity  in  summer." 

Prof.  Carlyle,  formerly  of  Wisconsin  Agricultural  College,  now 
director  Experiment  Station,  Moscow,  Idaho:  "A  silo  is  a  great 
labor-saving  device  for  preserving  the  cheapest  green  fodder  in 
the  best  form." 

C.  P.  Goodrich,  conductor  of  Farmers'  Institutes  in  Wisconsin, 
and  a  well-know  lecturer  and  authority  on  dairy  topics:  "A  farmer 
can  keep  cows  profitably  without  a  silo,  but  he  can  make  more 
profit  with  one,  because  he  can  keep  his  cows  with  less  expense 
and  they  will  produce  more." 

Prof.  Deane,  of  Ontario  Agricultural  College:  "The  silo  is  be- 
coming a  greater  necessity  every  year  in  Ontario." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  from  all  parts  of  the  world  wherever 
the  silo  is  in  use,  the  evidence  points  in  favor  of  silage,  there  no 
longer  being  an  argument  against  it,  in  connection  with  the  dairy, 
and  especially  in  latitudes  where  corn  can  be  grown. 

Economy  In  production  of  feed  materials  means  increased 
profits.  Competition  establishes  the  price  at  which  the  farmer 
and  dairyman  must  market  his  products;  but  by  the  study  of  ap- 
proved and  modern  methods  the  farmer  can  regulate  his  profits. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  FEEDERS 'GUIDE. 

It  has  been  thought  best,  in  order  to  increase  the  usefulness  of 
this  little  book  to  practical  farmers,  to  add  to  the  specific  infor- 
mation given  in  the  preceding  pages  as  to  the  making  and  feeding 
of  silage,  a  brief  general  outline  of  the  main  principles  that  should 
govern  the  feeding  of  farm  animals.  This  will  include  a  statement 
of  the  character  of  the  various  components  of  the  feeding  stuffs 
used  for  the  nutrition  of  farm  stock,  with  tables  of  composition, 
and  a  glossary  of  scientific  or  technical  terms  often  met  with 
in  agricultural  papers,  experiment  station  reports,  and  similar 
publications.  Many  of  these  terms  are  used  constantly  in  discus- 
sions of  agricultural  topics,  and  unless  the  farmer  has  a  fairly 
clear  idea  of  their  meaning,  the  discussions  will  often  be  of  no 
value  to  him.  The  information  given  in  the  following  is  put  in  as 
plain  and  simple  language  as  possible,  and  only  such  facts  are 
given  as  are  considered  of  fundamental  importance  to  the  feeder 
of  farm  stock. 

Composition  of  the  Animal  Body. 

The  most  important  components  of  the  animal  body  are:  Water, 
ash,  protein,  and  fat.  We  shall  briefly  describe  these  components. 

Water  is  found  in  larger  quantities  in  the  animal  body  than  any 
other  substance.  It  makes  up  about  a  third  to  nearly  two-thirds 
of  the  live  weight  of  farm  animals.  The  fatter  the  animal  is,  the 
less  water  is  found  in  its  body.  We  may  consider  50  per  cent,  of 
the  body  weight  a  general  average  for  the  water  content  of  the 
body  of  farm  animals.  When  it  comes  to  animal  products  used  for 
food  purposes,  there  are  wide  variations  in  the  water  content; 
from  between  80  and  90  per  cent.,  in  case  of  milk,  to  between  40 
and  60  per  cent,  in  meat  of  various  kinds,  about  12  per  cent,  in 
butter,  and  less  than  10  per  cent,  in  fat  salt  pork. 

Ash  or  mineral  matter  is  that  portion  of  the  animal  body  which 

212 


COMPOSITION  OP  FEEDING  STUFFS.  213 

remains  behind  when  the  body  is  burned.  The  bones  of  animals 
contain  large  quantities  of  mineral  matter,  while  the  muscles  and 
other  parts  of  the  body  contain  only  small  amounts;  it  must  not 
be  concluded,  however,  that  the  ash  materials  are  of  minor  impor- 
tance for  this  reason;  both  young  and  full-grown  animals  require 
a  constant  supply  of  ash  materials  in  their  food;  if  the  food  should 
not  contain  a  certain  minimum  amount  of  ash  materials,  and  of 
various  compounds  contained  therein  which  are  essential  to  life, 
the  animal  will  very  soon  turn  sick,  and  if  the  deficiency  is  not 
made  up  will  die,  no  matter  how  much  of  other  food  components 
may  be  supplied.  As  both  ash  and  water  are  either  present  in 
sufficient  quantities  in  feeding  stuffs,  or  can  be  easily  supplied,  the 
feeder  does  not  ordinarily  need  to  give  much  thought  to  these 
components  in  the  selection  of  foods  for  his  stock  except  in  the 
case  of  young  animals  fed  corn  (which  is  lacking  in  ash  ma- 
terials), and  in  feeding  milch  cows  and  steers  which  require  an  ad- 
dition of  salt  in  order  to  do  well. 

Protein  is  the  name  of  a  large  group  of  very  complex  substances 
that  have  certain  characteristics  in  common,  the  more  important 
of  which  is  that  they  all  contain  the  element  nitrogen.  The  most 
important  protein  substances  found  in  the  animal  body  are:  lean 
meat,  fibrin,  all  kinds  of  tendons,  ligaments,  nerves,  skin,  brain,  in 
fact  the  entire  working  machinery  of  the  animal  body.  The  casein 
of  milk  and  the  white  of  the  egg  are,  furthermore,  protein  sub- 
stances. It  is  evident  from  the  enumeration  made  that  protein  is 
to  the  animal  body  what  the  word  implies,  the  most  important, 
the  first. 

Fat  is  a  familiar  component  of  the  animal  body;  it  is  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  body  in  ordinary  cases,  but  is  found  de- 
posited on  certain  organs,  or  under  the  skin,  in  thick  layers,  in  the 
case  of  very  fat  animals. 

The  animal  cannot,  as  is  well  known,  live  on  air;  it  must  manu- 
facture its  body  substances  and  products  from  the  food  it  eats, 
hence  the  next  subject  for  consideration  should  be: 


Composition  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 

The  feeding  stuffs  used  for  the  nutrition  of  our  farm  animals 
are,  generally  speaking,  composed  of  similar  compounds  as  those 


214  A  FEEDERS'  GUIDE. 

which  are  found  in  the  body  of  the  animal  itself,  although  the 
components  in  the  two  cases  are  rarely  identical,  but  can  be  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other  in  most  cases  by  certain  chemical  re- 
actions. The  animal  body  through  its  vital  functions  has  the 
faculty  of  changing  the  various  food  substances  which  it  finds  in 
the  food  in  such  a  way  that  they  are  in  many  instances  different 
from  any  substances  found  in  the  vegetable  world. 

The  components  of  feeding  stuffs  which  are  generally  enumerat- 
ed and  taken  into  account  in  ordinary  chemical  fodder  analysis,  or 
in  discussions  of  feeding  problems  are:  Water  (or  moisture,  as  it 
is  often  called),  ash  materials,  fat  (or  ether-extract),  protein,  fiber, 
and  nitrogen-free  extract;  the  two  components  last  given  are 
sometimes  grouped  together  under  the  name  carbohydrates.  These 
components  are  in  nearly  all  cases  mixtures  of  substances  that 
possess  certain  properties  in  common;  and  as  the  mixtures  are 
often  made  up  of  different  components,  or  of  the  same  compon- 
ents in  varying  proportions,  it  follows  that  even  if  a  substance  is 
given  in  a  table  of  composition  of  feeding  stuffs,  in  the  same  quan- 
tities in  case  of  two  different  feeds,  these  feeds  do  not  necessarily 
have  the  same  food  value  as  far  as  this  component  alone  is  con- 
cerned. 

Water  or  moisture  is  found  in  all  feeding  stuffs,  whether  succu- 
lent or  apparently  dry.  Green  fodders  contain  from  60  to  90  per 
cent,  of  water,  according  to  the  stage  of  maturity  of  the  fodder; 
root  crops  contain  between  80  and  90  per  cent.,  while  hay  of  dif- 
ferent kinds,  straw,  and  concentrated  feeds  ordinarily  have  water 
contents  ranging  between  20  and  5  per  cent. 

Ash  or  mineral  matter  is  found  in  all  plant  tissues  and  feeding 
stuffs.  We  find  most  ash  in  leafy  plants,  or  in  refuse  feeds  made 
up  from  the  outer  covering  of  grains  or  other  seeds,  viz.,  from  4  to 
8  per  cent.;  less  in  the  cereals  and  green  fodder,  and  least  of  all 
in  roots.  A  fair  amount  of  ash  materials  is  a  necessity  in  feeding 
young  stock  and  pregnant  animals,  and  only  limited  amount  of 
foods  low  in  ash  should  be  fed  to  such  animals;  refuse  feed  from 
starch  and  glucose  factories  which  have  been  treated  with  large 
quantities  of  water  should,  therefore,  be  fed  with  care  in  such 
cases. 

Fat  or  ether- extract  is  the  portion  of  the  feeding  stuff  which  is 
dissolved  by  ether  or  benzine.  It  is  found  in  large  quantities  in 


COMPOSITION  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS.  215 

the  oil-bearing  seeds,  about  one  third  of  these  being  composed  of 
oil  or  fat;  the  oil-mill  refuse  feeds  are  also  rich  in  fat,  especially 
cottonseed  meal  and  old-process  linseed  meal;  other  feeds  rich  in 
fat  are  gluten  meal  and  feed,  dried  distillers'  grains,  and  rice  meal. 
The  ether-extract  of  the  coarse  fodders  contains  considerable  wax, 
resins,  and  other  substances  which  have  a  low  feeding  value,  while 
that  of  the  seeds  and  by-products  from  these  are  essentially  pure 
fat  or  oil. 

Protein  or  flesh-forming  substances  are  considered  of  the  high- 
est importance  in  feeding  animals,  because  they  supply  the  ma- 
terial required  for  building  up  the  tissues  of  the  body,  and  for 
maintaining  these  under  the  wear  caused  by  the  vital  functions. 
Ordinarily  the  feed  rations  of  most  farmers  are  deficient  in  protein 
since  most  of  the  farm-grown  foods  (aside  from  clover,  alfalfa, 
peas  and  similar  crops)  contain  only  small  amounts  of  these  sub- 
stances. The  feeding  stuffs  richest  in  protein  are,  among  the  coarse 
foods,  those  already  mentioned;  among  the  concentrated  foods; 
cottonseed  meal,  linseed  meal,  gluten  meal,  gluten  feed,  buckwheat 
middlings,  and  the  flour-mill,  brewery,  and  distillery  refuse  feeds. 
The  protein  substances  are  also  called  nitrogenous  bodies  for  the 
reasons  given  above,  and  the  other  organic  (combustible)  compo- 
nents in  the  feeding  stuffs  are  spoken  of  as  non -nitrogenous  sub- 
stances. The  non-nitrogenous  components  of  feeding  stuffs,  there- 
fore, include  fat  and  the  two  following  groups,  fiber  and  nitrogen- 
free  extract. 

Crude  fiber  (or  simply  fiber)  is  the  framework  of  the  plants, 
forming  the  walls  of  the  cells.  It  is  usually  the  .least  digestible 
portion  of  plants  and  vegetable  foods,  and  the  larger  proportion 
present  thereof  the  less  valuable  the  food  is.  We  find,  according- 
ly, that  the  fodders  containing  most  fiber  are  the  cheapest  foods 
and  least  prized  by  feeders,  as,  e.  g.,  straw  of  the  various  cereal 
and  seed-producing  crops,  corncobs,  oat  and  rice  hulls,  cottonseed 
hulls,  buckwheat  hulls,  and  the  like.  These  feeding  stuffs,  in  so 
far  as  they  can  be  considered  as  such,  contain  as  a  rule  between 
35  and  50  per  cent,  of  fibre.  Concentrated  feeding  stuffs,  on  the 
other  hand,  generally  contain  less  than  10  per  cent,  of  fibre  and  in 
all  cereals  but  oats  only  a  few  per  cent,  of  fibre  are  found. 

Nitrogen-free  extract  is, a  general  name  for  all  that  is  left  of 
the  organic  matter  of  plants  and  fodders  after  deducting  the  pre- 


216  A  FEEDERS'  GUIDE. 

ceding  groups  of  compounds.  It  includes  some  of  the  most  val- 
uable constituents  of  feeding  stuffs,  which  make  up  the  largest 
bulk  of  the  food  materials;  first  in  importance  among  these  con- 
stituents are  starch  and  sugar,  and,  in  addition,  a  number  of  less 
well-known  substances  of  similar  composition,  like  pentosans, 
gums,  organic  acids,  etc.  Together  with  fiber  the  nitrogen-free 
extracts  forms  the  group  of  substances  known  as  carbohydrates. 
A  general  name  for  carbohydrates  is  heat-producing  substances, 
since  this  is  one  important  function  which  they  fill;  they  are  not 
as  valuable  for  this  purpose,  pound  for  pound,  as  fat,  which  also 
is  often  used  for  the  purpose  by  the  animal  organism,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  large  quantities  in  which  the  carbohydrates  are 
found  in  most  feeding  stuffs  they  form  a  group  of  food  materials 
second  to  none  in  importance.  Since  it  has  been  found  that  fat 
will  produce  on  combustion  about  2  ^  times  as  much  heat  as  car- 
bohydrates, the  two  components  are  often  considered  together  in 
tables  of  composition  of  feeding  stuffs  and  in  discussions  of  the 
feeding  value  of  different  foods,  the  per  cent,  of  fat  being  multi- 
plied by  2^4  in  such  cases,  and  added  to  the  per  cent,  of  carbo- 
hydrates (i.  e.,  fiber  plus  nitrogen-free  extract)  in  the  foods.  As 
this  renders  comparisons  much  easier,  and  simplifies  calculations 
for  the  beginner,  we  shall  adopt  this  plan  in  the  tables  and  discus- 
sions given  in  this  Guide. 

Carbohydrates  and  fat  not  only  supply  heat  on  being  oxidized 
or  burned  in  the  body,  but  also  furnish  materials  for  energy  used 
in  muscular  action,  whether  this  be  voluntary  or  involuntary. 
They  also  in  all-  probability  are  largely  used  for  the  purpose  of 
storing  fatty  tissue  in  the  body  of  fattening  animals,  or  of  other 
animals  that  are  fed  an  excess  of  nutrients  above  what  is  required 
for  the  production  of  the  necessary  body  heat  and  muscular  force. 

To  summarize  briefly  the  use  of  the  various  food  elements: 
Protein  is  required  for  building  up  muscular  tissue,  and  to  supply 
the  breaking-down  and  waste  of  nitrogenous  components  con- 
stantly taking  place  in  the  living  body.  If  fed  in  excess  of  this 
requirement  it  is  used  for  production  of  heat  and  energy.  The 
non-nitrogenous  organic  components,  i.  e.,  carbohydrates  and  fat, 
furnish  material  for  supply  of  heat  and  muscular  exertion,  as  well 
as  for  the  production  of  fat  in  the  body  or  in  the  milk,  in  case  of 
milk-producing  animals. 


COMPOSITION  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS.  217 

Digestibility  of  foods. — Only  a  certain  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff 
is  of  actual  value  to  the  animal,  viz.,  the  portion  which  the  diges- 
tive juices  of  the  animal  can  render  soluble,  and  thus  bring  into 
a  condition  in  which  the  system  can  make  the  use  of  it  called  for; 
this  digestible  portion  ranges  from  one-half  or  less  to  more  than 
96  per  cent,  in  case  of  highly  digestible  foods.  The  rest  is  simply 
ballast,  and  the  more  ballast,  i.  e.,  the  less  of  digestible  matter  a 
food  contains,  the  more  the  value  of  the  digestible  portion  is  re- 
duced. Straw,  e.  g.,  is  found,  by  means  of  digestion  experiments, 
to  contain  between  30  and  40  per  cent,  of  digestible  matter  in  all, 
but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  an  animal  can  be  kept  alive  for  any 
length  of  time  when  fed  straw  alone.  It  very  likely  costs  him 
more  effort  to  extract  the  digestible  matter  therefrom  than  the 
energy  this  can  supply.  An  animal  lives  on  and  produces  not  from 
what  he  eats  but  from  what  he  digests  and  assimilates. 

Relative  value  of  feeding  stuffs.  Since  the  prices  of  different 
feeding  stuffs  vary  greatly  with  the  locality  and  season,  it  is  im- 
possible to  give  definite  statements  as  to  the  relative  economy 
which  will  always  hold  good;  it  may  be  said,  in  general,  that  the 
feeding  stuffs  richest  in  protein  are  our  most  costly  and  at  the 
same  time  our  most  valuable  foods.  Experience  has  shown  to  a 
certainty  that  a  liberal  supply  of  protein  is  an  advantage  in  feed- 
ing most  classes  of  farm  animals,  so  that  if  such  feeding  stuffs 
can  be  obtained  at  fair  prices,  it  will  pay  to  feed  them  quite  ex- 
tensively, and  they  must  enter  into  all  food  rations  in  fair  quanti- 
ties in  order  that  the  animals  may  produce  as  much  milk,  meat, 
or  other  farm  products,  as  is  necessary  to  render  them  profitable 
to  their  owner.  The  following  statement  shows  a  classification  of 
feeding  stuffs  which  may  prove  helpful  in  deciding  upon  kinds  and 
amounts  of  feeds  to  be  purchased  or  fed: 


218  A  FEEDERS'  GUIDE. 

Table  XVI. — Classification  of  Cattle  Foods. — A.     Coarse  Feeds. 

i 
Low    in    protein.  Medium      in     protein.    Low    in    protein. 

High    in    carbo-  Medium       in       carbo-    High    in    carbo- 

hydrates, hydrates.  hydrates. 

50    to     65     per    cent.   55     to     65    per    cent.  85     to     95     per    cent, 
digestible.  digestible.  digestible. 


Hays,    straws, 
corn   fodder, 
corn    stover, 
silage,    cereal 
fodders. 

Clovers,    alfalfa, 
pasture    grass, 
vetches,    pea 
and  bean  fod- 
der. 

Carrots,    potatoes, 
sugar   beets, 
mangolds, 
turnips. 

B.     Concentrates. 


Very    high 

High   in  pro- 

Fairly  high    in 

Low  in 

in    protein 

tein 

protein 

protein 

(above  40  per 

(25-40  per 

(12-25  per 

(below    12    per 

cent.) 

cent.) 

cent.) 

cent.) 

Dried    blood. 

Gluten  meal. 

Malt    sprouts. 

Wheat. 

Meat   scraps. 

Atlas  meal. 

Gluten   feed. 

Barley. 

Cottonseed 

Linseed  meal. 

Cow  pea. 

Oats. 

meal. 

Buckwheat 

Pea   meal. 

Rye. 

middlings. 

Wheat    shorts. 

Corn. 

Buckwheat 

Rye   shorts. 

Rice  polish. 

shorts. 

Oat    shorts. 

Rice. 

Soy    bean. 

Wheat 

Hominy 

Dried  distillers' 

middlings. 

chops  or 

and    brewers' 

Wheat    bran. 

feed. 

grains.                  i  Low-grade 

Germ  meal. 

flour. 

Oat   feeds. 

The  Feed  Unit  System. 

This  system  furnishes  a  convenient  and  accurate  method  of 
comparing  the  feed  consumption  of  different  farm  animals  and  of 
determining  the  relative  economy  of  their  production.  It  has  been 
found,  for  example  in  the  case  of  dairy  cows,  that  some  cows 
produce  a  certain  amount  of  milk  and  butter-fat  much  more 
cheaply  than  others,  so  far  as  their  feed  consumption  is  con- 


TABLE   OF  FEED  UNITS. 


219 


cerned;  they  are  economical  producers  and  should  preferably  be 
used  for  dairy  production  and  as  foundation  stock  for  the  dairy. 
Heifer  cows  from  such  cows  will  be  likely  to  be  large  and  profit- 
able producers.  By  the  feed  unit  system  a  simple,  definite  figure 
is  obtain  for  the  total  feed  eaten  by  farm  animals,  including  that 
eaten  on  pasture. 

An  example  will  readily  illustrate  the  application  of  the  sys- 
tem.    For  instance,   it  has  been  found  that  1.1  pounds  of  wheat 


Table  XVII.— Table  of  Feed   Units. 


-Feeding  Stuffs. 


Pounds  of  Feed 

required  to  equal 

1  unit. 


Concentrates  — 

Corn,    wheat,    rye,    barley,    hominy    feed,    dried 
brewers'  grains,  wheat  middlings,  oat  shorts, 
Peas,    Unicorn    Dairy    Ration,    molasses    beet 
pulp 

Aver- 
age. 

1  0 

Range. 

Cotton  seed  meal 

0  8 

Oil  meal,  Ajax  Flakes   (dried  distillers'  grains), 
gluten  feed,  soy  beans  

0  9 

Wheat    bran,  oats,  dried  beet  pulp,  barley  feed, 
malt      sprouts,      International      Sugar      Feed, 
Quaker  or  Sugarota  Molasses  or  Dairy  Feed, 
Sucrene     Dairy     Feed,     Badger     Dairy     Feed, 
Schumacher   Stock   Feed    molasses   grains 

1  1 

Alfalfa  meal,  Victor  feed,  June  Pasture,  alfalfa 
molasses  feeds                   .    .  . 

1  2 

Hay  and  Straw  — 

Alfalfa  hay,   clover  hay  

2  0 

15      30 

Mixed  hay,  oat  hay,  oat  and  pea  hay,  barley  and 
pea  hay,  red  top  hay.  . 

2  5 

o  Q      3  0 

Timothy  hay,  prairie  hay,  sorghum  hay  

3.0 

2.5  —  3.5 

Corn   stover,    stalks   or   fodder,    marsh   hay,    cut 
straw 

4  0 

35      60 

Soiling  crops,  silage  and  other  succulent  feeds  — 

Green   alfalfa    

7  0 

60      80 

Green    corn,    sorghum,    clover,    peas    and    oats, 
cannery  refuse 

8  0 

70     100 

Alfalfa  silage 

5  0 

Corn  silage,  pea  vine  silage 

6  0 

50      70 

Wet  brewers'   grains  

4.0 

Potatoes,  skim  milk,  butter  milk  

6  0 

Sugar  beets   .  . 

7  0 

Carrots    ... 

8  0 

Rutabagas 

9  0 

80      10  0 

Field  beets,  green  rape  

10  0  • 

Sugar  beet  leaves  and  tops    whey 

12  0 

Turnips,  mangels    fresh  beet  pulp 

12  5 

10  0      15  0 

Pasture,  8  to  12  units  per  day,   on  the  average 
varying  with  kind  and  condition. 

220  A  FEEDERS'  GUIDE. 

bran,  or  2.5  pounds  of  hay  of  average  quality,  can  be  substituted 
to  a  limited  extent  for  a  pound  of  grain  in  ordinary  dairy  rations, 
without  changing  appreciably  the  yield  or  the  composition  of  the 
milk  produced  by  the  cows,  or  influencing  their  live  weights  or 
general  condition.  These  quantities  of  the  different  feeds  are, 
therefore,  considered  of  similar  value  and  equivalent  to  one  feed 
unit.  If  a  cow  ate  750  pounds  of  hay,  150  pounds  of  bran,  and  90 
pounds  of  ground  corn  during  a  certain  month,  she  received  750 
divided  by  2.5,  or  300  feed  units,  in  the  hay  eaten,  150  divided  by 
1.1  or  136  in  the  bran,  and  90  in  the  ground  corn,  making  a  total 
of  526  feed  units  eaten. 

If  she  yielded  one  pound  of  butter-fat  a  day  in  her  milk  on 
this  feed,  or  30  pounds  for  the  month,  she  produced  30  divided 
by  5.26,  or  5.70  pounds  of  butter-fat  per  100  feed  units  consumed 
in  her  feed.  There  are  great  differences  among  cows  in  the 
returns  made  per  unit  of  feed,  and  data  obtained  as  given  above 
show  in  a  striking  manner  whether  a  cow  is  an  economical  pro- 
ducer or  whether  she  required  an  excessive  amount  of  feed  to 
make  her  production. 

Through  this  information,  along  with  that  as  to  the  capacity 
of  the  cow  for  dairy  production  furnished  by  a  milk  scale  and  a 
Babcock  tester,  a  farmer  can  find  out  definitely  the  rank  of  the 
different  cows  in  the  herd  as  dairy  producers  and  may  thus  know 
which  ones,  if  any,  are  not  profitable  animals  and  should  be  sent 
to  the  butcher. 

Feeding  Standards. 

Investigations  by  scientists  have  brought  to  light  the  fact  that 
the  different  classes  of  farm  animals  require  certain  amounts  of 
food  materials  for  keeping  the  body  functions  in  a  regular  healthy 
activity;  this  is  known  as  the  maintenance  ration  of  the  animal, 
an  allowance  of  feed  which  will  cause  him  to  maintain  his  live 
weight  without  either  gaining  or  losing,  or  producing  animal 
products  like  milk,  wool,  meat,  eggs,  etc.  If  the  animal  is  expected 
to  manufacture  these  products  in  addition,  it  is  necessary  to  supply 
enough  extra  food  to  furnish  materials  for  this  manufacture.  The 
food  requirements  for  different  purposes  have  been  carefully 
studied,  and  we  know  now  with  a  fair  amount  of  accuracy  how 
much  food  it  takes  in  the  different  cases  to  reach  the  objects 


A  PRACTICAL  FEEDING  RATION.  221 

sought.  Since  there  is  a  great  variety  of  different  foods,  and 
almost  infinite  possible  combinations  of  these,  it  would  not  do  to 
express  these  requirements  in  so  and  so  many  pounds  of  corn,  or 
oats,  or  wheat  bran,  but  they  are  in  all  cases  expressed  in 
amounts  of  digestible  protein,  carbohydrates  and  fat.  This  en- 
ables the  feeder  to  supply  these  food  materials  in  such  feeding 
stuffs  as  he  has  on  hand  or  can  procure.  The  feeding  standards 
commonly  adopted  as  basis  for  calculations  of  this  kind  are  those 
of  the  German  scientists,  Wolff  and  Lehmann.  Those  standards 
give,  then,  the  approximate  amount  of  dry  matter,  digestible  pro- 
tein, carbohydrates,  and  fat,  which  the  different  classes  of  farm 
animals  should  receive  in  their  daily  food  in  order  to  produce 
maximum  returns.  We  have  seen  that  a  fair  amount  of  digestible 
protein  in  the  food  is  essential  in  order  to  obtain  good  results. 
The  proportion  of  digestible  nitrogenous  to  digestible  non-nitro- 
genous food  substances  therefore  becomes  important.  This  pro- 
portion is  technically  known  as  nutritive  ratio,  and  we  speak 
of  wide  nutritive  ratio,  when  there  are  six  or  more  times  as  much 
digestible  carbohydrates  and  fat  in  a  ration  as  there  is  digestible 
protein,  and  of  a  narrow  ratio,  when  the  proportion  of  the  two 
kinds  of  food  materials  is  as  1  to  6,  or  less. 


The  feeding  standards  given  in  the  following  tables  may  serve 
as  a  fairly  accurate  guide  in  determining  the  food  requirements 
of  farm  animals;  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  amounts  are  per 
1,000  pounds  live  weight,  and  not  per  head,  except  as  noted  in  the 
case  of  growing  animals.  The  standards  should  not  be  looked 
upon  as  infallible  guides,  which  they  are  not,  for  the  simple  rea- 
son that  different  animals  differ  greatly  both  in  the  amounts  of 
food  that  they  consume  and  in  the  uses  which  they  are  able  to 
make  of  the  food  they  eat.  The  feeding  standard  for  milch  cows 
has  probably  been  subjected  to  the  closest  study  by  American 
experiment  station  workers,  and  it  has  been  found,  in  general, 
that  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standard  calls  for  more  digestible  protein 
(i.  e.,  a  narrower  nutritive  ratio)  than  can  be  fed  with  economy 
in  most  of  the  dairy  sections  of  our  country,  at  least  in  the 
central  and  northwestern  states.  On  basis  of  investigations  along 
this  line  conducted  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineties,  Prof.  Woll, 
of  Wisconsin,  proposed  a  so-called  American  practical  feeding 
ration,  which  calls  for  the  following  amount  of  digestible  food 


222  A  FEEDERS'  GUIDE. 

materials  in  the  daily  ration  of  a  dairy  cow  of  an  average  weight 
of  1,000  pounds. 

Digestible   protein 2.2  Ibs. 

Digestible  carbohydrates 13.3  ibs. 

Digestible  fat 7  ibs. 

Total   digestible   matter    17.1  ibs. 

(protein  +  carbohydrates +f  at  X  2  % ) 
Nutritive   ratio    ..1:69 


FEEDING  STANDARDS. 

Feeding  Standards  for  Farm  Animals. 

( Wolff  -Lehmann.) 

Per  day  and  per  1000  Ibs.  live  weight. 


223 


. 

Total  Dry  Substance 

Nutritive 
(Digestible) 
Substances 

ll 

1* 

K 

1 

Nutritive  Ratio 

a 

1 
£ 

• 

•o 

9Q 

£ 
1 

| 

1 
-  | 

2 

1    Steers  at  rest  in  stall 

Ibs.  | 

18 
22 
25 
28 

30 
30 
26 

25 
27 
29 
32 

20 
23 

25 

30 
26 

20 
24 
26 

22 

36 
32 

25 

23 
24 
27 
26 
26 

Ibs. 

0.7 
1.4 

2.0 

2.8 

2.5 
3.0 

2.7 

1.6 
2.0 
2.5 
3.3 

1.2 
1.5 

2.9 

3.0 
3.5 

1.5 
2.0 
2.5 

2.5 

4.5 
4.0 
2.7 

4.0 
3.0 
2.0 
1.8 
1.5 

Ib, 

8.0 
10.0 
11.5 
13.0 

15.0 
14.5 
15.0 

10.0 
11.0 
13.0 
13.0 

10.5 
12.5 

15.0 

18.0 
14.0 

9.5 
11.0 
13.3 

15.5 

25.0 
24.0 
18.0 

13.0 
12.8 
12.5 
12.5 
12.0 

Ibs. 

0.1 
0.3 

0.5 
0.8 

0.5 
0.7 
0.7 

0.3 

0.4 
0.5 
0.8 

0.2 
0.3 

0.5 

0.5 
0.6 

0.4 
0.6 
0.8 

0.4 

0.7 
0.5 
0.4 

2.0 
1.0 
0.5 
0.4 
0.3 

Ibs. 

8.9 
12.1 
14.7 
17.7 

18.7 
19.2 
19.4 

12.3 
14.0 
16.7 
18.2 

12.2 
14.2 

19.1 

19.2 
19.4 

12.0 
14.5 
17.7 

19.0 

31.2 

29.2 
22.0 

21.8 
18.2 
15.7 
15.3 
14.2 

1:11.8 
1:  7.7 
1:  6.5 
1:  5.3 

1:  6.5 

1:  5.4 
1:  6.2 

1:  6.7 

1:  6.0 
1:  5.7 
1:  4.5 

1:  9.1 
1:  8.5 

1:  5.6 

1:  5.4 
1:  4.5 

1:  7.0 

1:  6.2 
1:  6.0 

1:  6.6 

1:  5.9 
1:  6.3 
1:  7.0 

1  4.5 
1  5.1 
1  6.8 
1  7.5 
1  8.5 

slightly  worked  

moderately   worked  

"       heavily  worked  .  . 

2.  Fattening  steers,  1st  period  

2nd 

"                  "        3d 

3.  Milch  cows,  daily  milk  yield,  11  Ibs. 
16.5    " 

"       27.6    " 
4    TVool  sheep    coarser  breeds 

finer               "      

5.  Breeding  ewes,  with   lambs. 

6.  Fattening  sheep,  1st  period  

2nd 

7.  Horses  lightly  worked  

moderately   worked  

"       -heavily    worked 

8.  Brood  sows,  with  pigs  

9.  Fattening  swine    1st  period 

"        2nd 

"                  "        3d          " 

10.  Growing  cattle: 

Dairy  Breeds. 

Av.  Live  Weight 
Age,  Months.                   Per  Head. 
2-   3                            154   Ibs  

3-   6                            309    "    

6-12                             507     " 

12-18                            705     " 

18-24                             882     "     

224 


A  FEEDERS'   GUIDE. 


Feeding  Standards  for  Farm  Animals — Continued. 


Total  Dry  Substance 

Nutritive 
(Digestible) 
Substances 

Total  Nutritive 
Substances 

Nutritive  Ratio 

c 

OH 
» 

•o 

E 

0 

! 

1 

fc 

3 

w 
« 

w 

11.  Growing  cattle: 
Beef  Breeds. 

Av.  Live  Weight 
Age,  Months.                    Per  Head. 
2-   3                            165   Ibs  

Ibs. 

23 
24 

25 
24 
24 

25 
25 
23 

22 

22 

26 
26 
24 
23 
22 

44 
35 
32 

28 
25 

44 
35 
33 
30 

26 

Ibs. 

4.2 
3.5 
2.5 

2.0 
1.8 

3.4 

2.8 
2.1 
1.8 
1.5 

4.4 
3.5 
3.0 
2.2 

2.0 

7.6 
5.0 
3.7 
2.8 
2.1 

7.6 
5.0 
4.3 
3.6 
3.0 

Ibs. 

13.0 
12.8 
13.2 
12.5 
12.0 

15.4 
13.8 
11.5 
11.2 

10.8 

15.5 
15.0 
14.3 
12.6 
12.0 

28.0 
23.1 
21.3 
18.7 
15.3 

28.0 
23.1 
22.3 
20.5 
18.3 

Ibs. 

2.0 
1.5 
0.7 
0.5 
0.4 

0.7 
0.6 
0.5 
0.4 
0.3 

0.9 

0.7 
0.5 
0.5 
0.4 

1.0 
0.8 
0.4 
0.3 

0.2 

1.0 
0.8 
0.6 
0.4 
0.3 

Ibs. 

20.0 
19.9 
14.4 

15.7 
14.8 

20.5 
18.0 
14.8 
14.0 
13.0 

22.1 
20.2 
18.5 
16.0 
15.0 

38.0 
30.0 
26.0 
22.2 
17.9 

38.0 
30.0 
28.0 
25.1 
22.0 

1:4.2 
1:4.7 
1:6.0 
1:6.8 
1:7.2 

1:5.0 
1:5.4 
1:6.0 
1:7.0 
1:7.7 

1:4.0 
1:4.8 
1:5.2 
1:6.3 
1:6.5 

1:4.0 
1:5.0 
1:6.0 
1:4.0 
1:7.5 

1:4.0 
1:5.0 
1:5.5 
1:6.0 
1:6.4 

3-   6                            331     " 

6-12                             551     " 

12-18                             750     "    

18-24                            937     "    

12.   Growing1  sheep: 
Wool  Breeds. 

4-   6                              60   Ibs  

6-8                                75     " 

7-11                                84     "    

11-15                                90     "    
15-20                                99     " 

13.  Growing  sheep: 
Mutton   Breeds. 

4-   6                              66   Ibs  
6-8                              84     "    

8-11                            101     " 

11-15                            121     " 

15-20                            154     "    

14.  Growing  swine: 
Breed  lug  Animals. 

2-   3                              44  Ibs 

3-5                                99     " 

5-6                             121     "    
6-8                             176     "     
8-12                             265     " 

15.   Growing  fat  pigs: 
2-   3                              44   Ibs 

3-5                            110    "    
5-6                             143     "         .  .  .  . 

6-    8                             198     "    

8-12                            287     " 

HOW  TO  FIGURE  OUT  RATIONS.  225 


How  to  Figure  Out  Rations. 

We  shall  use  the  practical  American  feeding  ration  as  a  basis 
for  figuring  out  the  food  materials  which  should  be  supplied  a 
dairy  cow  weighing  1,000  pounds,  in  order  to  insure  a  maximum 
and  economical  production  of  milk  and  butter-fat.  We  shall 
suppose  that  a  farmer  has  the  following  foods  at  his  disposal: 
Corn  silage,  mixed  timothy  and  clover  hay,  and  wheat  bran;  and 
that  he  has  to  feed  about  forty  pounds  of  silage  per  head  daily, 
in  order  to  have  it  last  through  the  winter  and  spring.  We  will 
suppose  that  he  gives  his  cows,  in  addition,  five  pounds  of  hay 
and  about  six  pounds  of  bran  daily.  If  we  now  look  up  in  the 
tables  given  on  pages  237  to  241,  the  amounts  of  digestible  food 
components  contained  in  the  quantities  given  of  these  feeds,  we 
shall  have: 


Total  Digestible                 Nutr. 

Dry  Mtr.  Pro.         Garb.  &  Fat     Ratio. 

40    Ibs.    corn    silage 10.5  Ibs.  .48  Ibs.           7.1  Ibs. 

5  Ibs.    mixed    hay 4.2  .22         ..       2.2 

6  Ibs.    wheat    bran 5.3  .72                   2.8 

20.0  1.42                12.1                1:8.5 


We  notice  that  the  ration  as  now  given  contains  too  little  total 
digestible  matter,  there  being  a  deficit  of  both  digestible  protein, 
carbohydrates  and  fat;  it  will  evidently  be  necessary  to  supply 
at  least  a  couple  of  pounds  more  of  some  concentrated  feed,  and 
preferably  of  a  feed  rich  in  protein,  since  the  deficit  of  this 
component  is  proportionately  greater  than  that  of  the  other 
components.  In  selecting  a  certain  food  to  be  added  and  deciding 
on  the  quantities  to  be  fed,  the  cost  of  different  available  foods 
must  be  considered.  We  will  suppose  that  linseed  meal  can  be 
bought  at  a  reasonable  price  in  this  case,  and  will  add  two  pounds 
thereof  to  the  ration.  We  then  have  the  following  amounts  of 
digestible  matter  in  the  ration: 


226  A  FEEDERS'  GUIDE. 

Total                        Digestible  Nutr. 

Dry  Mtr.  Pro.         Garb.  &  Fat  Ratio. 

Ration    as    above 20.0  Ibs.  1.42  Ibs.         12.1  Ibs.  1:6.4 

2  Ibs.  oil  meal  (O.P.) .  .      .1.8  .62  1.0 


Total  21.8  2.04  13.1  1:6.4 

Amer.  prac.  feeding 

ration  2.2  14.9  1:6.9 

Wolff -Lehmann 

standard    29.0  2.5  14.1  1:5.7 

The  new  ration  is  still  rather  light,  both  in  total  and  digestible 
food  materials;  for  many  cows  it  might  prove  effective  as  it  is, 
while  for  others  it  would  doubtless  be  improved  by  a  further 
addition  of  some  concentrated  food  medium  rich  in  protein,  or  If 
grain  feeds  are  high,  of  more  hay  or  silage.  The  feeding  rations 
are  not  intended  to  be  used  as  infallible  standards  that  must  be 
followed  blindly,  nor  could  they  be  used  as  such.  They  are  only 
meant  to  be  approximate  gauges  by  which  the  farmer  may  know 
whether  the  ration  which  he  is  feeding  is  of  about  such  a  com- 
position and  furnishes  such  amounts  of  important  food  materials 
as  are  most  likely  to  produce  best  results,  cost  of  feed  and  re- 
turns in  products  as  well  as  condition  of  animals  being  all  con- 
sidered. 

In  constructing  rations  according  to  the  above  feeding  stand- 
ard, several  points  must  be  considered  besides  the  chemical 
composition  and  the  digestibility  of  the  feeding  stuffs;  the  stand- 
ard cannot  be  followed  directly  without  regard  to  bulk  and  other 
properties  of  the  fodder;  the  ration  must  not  be  too  bulky,  and 
still  must  contain  a  sufficient  quantity  of  roughage  to  keep  up 
the  rumination  of  the  animals,  in  case  of  cows  and  sheep,  and 
to  secure  a  healthy  condition  of  the  animals  generally.  The 
local  market  prices  of  cattle  foods  are  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance in  determining  which  foods  to  buy;  the  conditions  in  the 
different  sections  of  our  great  continent  differ  so  greatly  in  this 
respect  that  no  generalizations  can  be  made.  Generally  speaking, 
nitrogenous  concentrated  feeds  are  the  cheapest  feeds  in  the 
South  and  in  the  East,  and  flour-mill,  brewery,  distillery,  and 
starch -factory  refuse  feeds  the  cheapest  in  the  Northwest. 


GRAIN  MIXTURES  FOR  DAIRY  COWS. 


227 


The  tables  given  on  pages  236  to  240  will  be  found  of  great 
assistance  in  figuring  out  the  nutrients  in  feed  rations;  the 
tables  h.ave  been  reproduced  from  a  bulletin  published  by  the 
Vermont  Experiment  Station,  and  are  based  upon  the  latest  com- 
pilations of  analysis  of  feeding  stuffs.  A  few  rations  are  given 
in  the  following  as  samples  of  combinations  of  different  kinds  of 
feed  with  corn  silage  that  will  produce  good  results  with  dairy 
cows.  The  rations  given  on  page  193  may  also  be  studied  to 
advantage  in  making  up  feed  rations  with  silage  for  dairy  cows. 
The  experiment  stations  or  other  authorities  publishing  the  ra- 
tions are  given  in  all  cases. 

SAMPLE    RATIONS    FOR    DAIRY    COWS. 

Massachusetts  Experiment  Station. — Mixtures  of  grain  mix- 
tures to  be  fed  with  one  bushel  of  silage  and  hay,  or  with  corn 
stover  or  hay. 


100  Ibs.  bran. 

100  Ibs.  flour  and  middlings. 

150  Ibs.  g-luten  feed. 

Mix  and  feed  7  quarts  daily. 


100  Ibs.  bran. 

100  Ibs.   flour  middlings. 

100  Ibs.  gluten  or  cottonseed 

meal. 
Mix  and  feed  7  to  8  quarts  daily. 


100  Ibs.  cottonseed  or  gluten 

meal. 

150  Ibs.  corn  and  cob  meal. 
100  Ibs.  bran. 
Mix  and  feed  7  to  8  quarts  daily. 


100  Ibs.  bran  or  mixed  feed. 

150  Ibs.  gluten  feed. 

Mix  and  feed  9  quarts  daily. 


200  Ibs.  malt  sprouts. 

100  Ibs.  bran. 

100  Ibs.  gluten  feed. 

Mix  and  feed  10  to  12  qts.  daily. 


125  Ibs.  gluten  feed. 

100  Ibs.  corn  and  cob  meal. 

Mix  and  feed  5  to  6  quarts  daily. 


New  Jersey  Experiment  Station. — (1)  40  Ibs.  corn  silage.  5  Ibs. 
gluten  feed,  5  Ibs.  dried  brewers'  grains,  2  Ibs.  wheat  bran. 

(2)  35   Ibs.    corn  silage,   5   Ibs,   mixed  hay,   5   Ibs.  wheat  bran, 
2  Ibs.  each  of  oil  meal,  gluten  meal  and  hominy  meal. 

(3)  40  Ibs.   corn   silage,   5  Ibs.   clover  hay,    3   Ibs.   wheat  bran, 
2   Ibs.  malt   sprouts,   1   Ib.   each   of  cottonseed   meal   and   hominy 
meal. 


228  A  FEEDER'S  GUIDE. 

(4)  40  Ibs.  corn  silage,  4  Ibs.  dried  brewers'  grain,  4  Ibs.  wheat 
bran,  2  Ibs.  oil  meal. 

Maryland   Experiment  Station. — (1)   40  Ibs,'  silage,  5  Ibs.  clover 
hay,  9  Ibs.  wheat  middlings  and  1  Ib.  gluten  meal. 

(2)  30  Ibs.  silage,  8  Ibs.  corn  fodder,  6  Ibs.  cow  pea  hay,  3  Ibs. 
bran,  2  Ibs.  gluten  meal. 

Michigan    Experiment  Station. —  (1)   40  Ibs.  silage,  8  Ibs.  mixed 
hay,  8  Ibs.  bran,  3  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(2)  30  Ibs.  silage,  5  Ibs.  mixed  hay,  4  Ibs.  corn  meal,  4  Ibs.  bran, 
2  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal,  2  Ibs.  oil  meal. 

(3)  30   Ibs.   silage,   10  Ibs.   clover  hay,    4   Ibs.   bran,   4   Ibs.   corn 
meal,  3  Ibs.  oil  meal. 

(4)  30  Ibs.  silage,  4  Ibs.  clover  hay,  10  Ibs.  bran. 

Kansas    Experiment   Station. — (1)    Corn   silage   40   Ibs.,   10   Ibs. 
prairie  hay  or  millet,  4%  Ibs.  bran,  3  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(2)    40  Ibs.  corn  silage,  10  Ibs.  corn  fodder,  4  Ibs.  bran,  2  Ibs. 
Chicago  gluten  meal,  2  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(5)  40  Ibs.  corn  silage  5  Ibs.  sorghum  hay,  3  Ibs.  corn,  ly2  Ibs. 
bran,   3  Ibs.  gluten  meal,  iy2  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(4)  30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  10  Ibs.  millet,  4  Ibs.  corn,  1  Ib.  gluten 
meal,  3  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(5)  30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  15  Ibs.  fodder  corn,  2y2  Ibs.  bran,  3  Ibs. 
gluten  meal,  1%  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(6)  30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  15  Ibs.  fodder  corn,  2%  Ibs.  bran,  3  Ibs. 
gluten  meal,  l1/^  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(6%)   30   Ibs.  corn  silage,  10  Ibs.  oat  straw,  2  Ibs.  oats,   4  Ibs. 
bran,  2  Ibs.  gluten  meal,  2  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(7)  20  Ibs.  corn  silage,  20  Ibs.  alfalfa,  3  Ibs.  corn. 

(8)  15  Ibs.  corn  silage,  20  Ibs.  alfalfa,  5  Ibs.  kafir  corn. 

(9)  20  Ibs.  corn  silage,  15  Ibs.  alfalfa,  4  Ibs.  corn,  3  Ibs.  bran. 

(10)  40  Ibs.  corn  silage,  5  Ibs.  alfalfa,  3  Ibs.  corn,  3  Ibs.  oats. 
2  Ibs.  O.  P.  linseed  meal,  1  Ib.  cottonseed  meal. 

Tennessee  Experiment  Station. — 30  Ibs.  silage,  10  Ibs.  clover  or 


GRAIN  MIXTURES  FOR  DAIRY  COWS.  229 

cow  pea  hay,  5  Ibs.  wheat  bran,   3  Ibs.  of  corn,  2  Ibs.  cottonseed 
meal. 

North   Carolina    Experiment  Station. — (1)      40   Ibs.   corn   silage, 
10  Ibs.  cottonseed  hulls,  5  Ibs.  cottonseed  meal. 

(2)  50  Ibs.  corn  silage,  5  Ibs.  orchard  grass  hay,  4%  Ibs.  cot- 
tonseed meal. 

(3)  30  Ibs.  corn  silage,    10  Ibs.  alfalfa,   6  Ibs.  wheat  bran,   5 
Ibs.  cottonseed  hulls. 

(4)  40  Ibs.  corn  silage,  15  Ibs.  cow  pea  vine  hay. 

(5)  40   Ibs.   corn   silage,   6   Ibs.   wheat   bran,    6   Ibs.    field   peas 
ground. 

(6)  40  Ibs.  corn  silage,   4  Ibs.  cut  corn  fodder,  3  Ibs.  ground 
corn,   4  Ibs.  bran,   1  Ib.   cottonseed  meal    (ration  fed  at  Biltmore 
Estate  to  dairy  cows).     Silage  is  fed  to  steers  and  cows,  and  corn, 
peas,  teosinte,   cow  peas,   millet   and   crimson   clover  are  used  as 
silage  crops.    These  crops  are  put  into  the  silo  in  alternate  layers. 
"Will  never  stop  using  the  silo  and  silage." 

South  Carolina. — 30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  6  Ibs.  bran,  3  Ibs.  cotton- 
seed meal,  12  Ibs.  cottonseed  hulls. 

Georgia  Experiment  Station. — 40  Ibs.  corn  silage,  15  Ibs.  cow 
pea  hay,  5  Ibs.  bran. 

Ontario  Agr.  College. — 45  Ibs.  corn  silage,  6  Ibs.  clover  hay, 
8  Ibs.  bran,  2  Ibs.  barley. 

Nappan  Experiment  Station  (Canada). — 30  Ibs.  corn  silage,  20 
Ibs.  hay,  8  Ibs.  bran  and  meal. 

The  criticism  may  properly  be  made  with  a  large  number  of 
the  rations  given  in  the  preceding,  that  it  is  only  in  case  of  low 
prices  of  grain  or  concentrated  feeds  in  general,  and  with  good 
dairy  cows,  that  it  is  possible  to  feed  such  large  quantities  of 
grain  profitably  as  those  often  given.  In  the  central  and  north- 
western states  it  will  not  pay  to  feed  grain  heavily  with  corn  at 
fifty  cents  a  bushel  and  oats  at  thirty  cents  a  bushel  or  more.  In 
times  of  high  prices  of  feeds,  it  is  only  in  exceptional  cases  that 
more  than  six  or  eight  pounds  of  concentrated  feeds  can  be  fed 
with  economy  per  head  daily.  Some  few  cows  can  give  proper 
returns  for  more  than  this  quantity  of  grain  even  when  this  is 
high,  but  more  cows  will  not  do  so. 


230 


A  FEEDERS'  GUIDE. 


The  following  rule  for  feeding  good  dairy  cows  is  a  safe  one  to 
be  guided  by:  Feed  as  much  roughage  (succulent  feeds  like  silage 
or  roots,  and  hay)  as  the  cows  will  eat  up  clean,  and  in  addition, 
1  pounds  of  grain  feed  (concentrates)  a  day  per  head  for  every 
pound  of  butter  fat  they  produce  in  a  week  (or  one-third  to  one- 
fourth  as  many  pounds  as  they  give  milk  daily). 

The  farmer  should  aim  to  grow  protein  foods  like  clover, 
alfalfa,  peas,  etc.,  to  as  large  extent  as  practicable,  and  thus  reduce 
his  feed  bills. 


Average   Composition    of   Silage    Crops   of    Different    Kinds,    in 
Per  Cent. 


Water 

Ash 

Crude 
Protein 

Fiber 

Nitrogen 
Free 
Extract 

Ether 
Extract 

Corn  Silage  — 
Mature  corn  

73  6 

2  1 

2  7 

78 

12  9 

.9 

Immature  corn      .        ... 

79  1 

1  4 

17 

60 

11  0 

.8 

Ears   removed 

80  7 

1  8 

1  8 

5  6 

95 

.6 

Clover  silage 

72  0 

2  6 

4  2 

8  4 

11  6 

1  2 

Alfalfa    silage    

76.9 

2.7 

2.9 

8.3 

8.8 

.4 

Soy  bean  silage  

742 

28 

4.1 

9.7 

6.9 

•  2.2 

Cow  pea  vine  silage   

793 

29 

2.7 

6.0 

7.6 

1.5 

Field-pea  vine  silage         .  . 

500 

36 

59 

130 

260 

1.6 

Corn  cannery  refuse  husks. 
Corn  cannery  refuse  cobs.  . 
Pea   cannery   refuse  

83.8 
74.1 
76.8 

.6 
.5 
1.3 

1.4 
1.5 

2.8 

5.2 
7.9 
6.5 

7.9 
14.3 
11.3 

1.1 
1.7 
1.3 

Sorghum    silage    

761 

1.1 

.8 

6.4 

15.3 

.3 

Kafir  corn  silage  

67.2 

2.9 

2.1 

11.2 

15.2 

1.4 

Milo  silage            

746 

1.8 

2.2 

7.9 

12.7 

.7 

Corn-soy  bean  silage 

76  0 

2  4 

2.5 

7.2 

11.1 

.8 

Millet-soy  bean  silage  
Rye  silage 

79.0 
808 

2.8 
1  6 

2.8 
24 

7.2 
5.8 

7.2 
9  2 

1.0 
.3 

Oat  silage  

71.4  | 

20 

2.3 

16.1 

7.1 

1.1 

Apple    pomace    silage  

85.0 

.6 

1.2 

3.3  | 

8.8 

1.1 

Cow-pea  and  soy  bean  mixed 
Brewers'    grain   silage   1 

69.8  1 
69  8  1 

4.5 
1.2 

3.8  | 
6.6 

9.5  | 

4.7  | 

11.1 
15.6 

1.3 
2.1 

Beet   Pulp   silage            

909 

.3 

1.3  | 

3.3 

3.8  | 

.4 

1 

I 

The  table  shown  above  gives  actual  chemical  analysis  of 
the  products  mentioned  and  includes  the  entire  contents  of  the 
various  feeds.  The  following  table,  showing  the  average  amount 


ANALYSIS   OF  FEEDING   STUFFS. 


231 


of  digestible  nutrients  in  the  more  common  American  fodders, 
grains  and  by-products,  is  the  table  that  should  be  used  in  formu- 
lating rations.  The  table  gives  the  number  of  pounds  of  digestible 
nutrients  contained  in  100  Ibs.  of  the  feeds,  and  these  figures  can, 
therefore,  be  used  in  figuring  out  the  amount  of  digestible 
nutrients  in  any  given  amount  of  a  food  material;  it  is  by  guch 
methods  that  the  tables  given  on  pages  236  to  240  are  obtained. 


Analysis  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 

Table   Showing  Average  Amounts  of  Digestible  Nutrients  in   the 
More  Common  American  Fodders,  Grains  and  By-products. 

(Compiled   by  the   Editors   of   Hoard's   Dairyman,    Fort   Atkinson, 

Wis). 


fl 

Digestible 

Nutrients  ii 

i  10")  Pounds 

NAME  OF  FEED 

Dry  Matter  i 
100  Pound 

Protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Ether 
Iix  tract 
(Crude  J-at) 

Green  Fodders. 

Pasture   Grasses    mixed.  

Lbs. 
200 

Lbs. 
2,5 

Lbs. 
102 

Lbs. 
05 

Fodder  Corn                             .    . 

207 

10 

11  6 

04 

Sorghum 

°06 

06 

122 

04 

Red   Clover   

29.2 

29 

148 

0.7 

Alfalfa  

28.2 

39 

12.7 

05 

Cow  Pea   

164 

18 

87 

02 

Soy  Bean    

249 

32 

11  0 

05 

Oat   Fodder 

378 

26 

189 

10 

Rye  Fodder 

°34 

2  1 

141 

04 

Rape 

140 

1  5 

81 

02 

Peas  and  Oats    

16.0 

1.8 

7.1 

0.2 

Beet   Pulp 

10.2 

06 

73 

Silage. 
Corn  

209 

09 

113 

07 

Corn,  Wisconsin  analysis  
Sorghum  
Red  Clover  

26.4 
23.9 

280 

1.3 
0.6 
20 

14.0 
14.9 
135 

0.7 
0.2 
10 

Alfalfa  

275 

30 

85 

1  9 

Cow  Pea    

°07 

1  5 

86 

09 

Soy  Bean    . 

25.8 

2.7 

8.7 

1.3 

232 


A  FEEDER'S  GUIDE. 


c  x 

Digestible 

Nutrients  i 

i  100  Pounds 

NAME  OF  FEED 

Dry  Matter 
100  Pound 

Protein 

Carbo 
hydrates 

Ether 
Extract 
(Crude  Fat) 

Dry  Fodders  and  Hay. 
Corn  Fodder            

Lbs. 

578 

Lbs. 
9  5 

Lbs. 
346 

Lbs. 
1  2 

Corn   Fodder    \Vis    anal  

710 

37 

40  4 

j..^. 
1  ° 

Corn  Stover                       

595 

1  7 

394 

0  7 

Sorghum.  Fodder           

59  7 

1  5 

37  3 

04 

Red  Clover                            

847 

68 

35  8 

1  7 

Alfalfa        

916 

110 

39  6 

1  2 

852 

62 

466 

1  5 

Blue  Grass       

788 

48 

373 

9Q 

Cow  Pea                 

893 

108 

386 

1  1 

Crab    Grass            

824 

57 

39  7 

1  4 

Johnson   Grass            

877 

24 

478 

0  7 

Marsh  Grass 

884 

24 

299 

09 

Millet 

923 

45 

51  7 

1  3 

Oat  Hay 

91  1 

43 

464 

1  5 

Oat  and  Pea  Hay   

85.4 

9.2 

36.8 

1  2 

Orchard   Grass    

90.1 

4.9 

423 

1  4 

Prairie   Grass    

87.5 

3.5 

418 

1  4 

Ren  TOD 

911 

48 

469 

10 

Timothy     .  .                      

86.8 

2.8 

434 

1  4 

Timothy   and    Clover 

853 

48 

396 

1  6 

Vetch                                  

887 

129 

475 

1  4 

White  Daisy 

850 

38 

407 

1  2 

Straw. 
Barley  

85.8 

0.7 

41.2 

06 

Oat  

90.8 

1.2 

386 

08 

Rye        

92.9 

0.6 

406 

04 

TVheat 

904 

04 

363 

04 

Roots  and  Tubers. 

Artichokes          

200 

20 

168 

02 

Beets    common    

130 

1.2 

88 

01 

Beets    sugar          

135 

1  1 

10° 

01 

Carrots                                

11  4 

08 

7.8 

0.2 

Mangels                                    .    ... 

91 

1  1 

54 

01 

Parsnips  

11.7 

1.6 

11.2 

0.2 

Potatoes   

21.1 

0.9 

16.3 

0.1 

Rutabagas  

11.4 

1.0 

8.1 

0.2 

Turnips  .   .  .  .    ... 

o  r» 

1.0 

7.2 

0.2 

Sweet   Potatoes    

290 

09 

92  9 

03 

1 

ANALYSIS  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS. 


233 


d  „ 

Digestible 

Nutrients  ii 

i  100  Pounds 

NAME  OF  FEED 

If 

11 

Q 

Protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Ether 
Extract 
(Crude  Fat) 

Grain  and  By-Products. 
Barley                 

Lbs. 
89  1 

Lbs. 

87 

Lbs. 
65.6 

Lbs. 
1  6 

Brewers'   Grains    dry  

91  8 

157 

363 

5  1 

Brewers'  Grains    wet   

243 

39 

93 

1  4 

Malt    Sprouts            .        

898 

186 

37  1 

1  7 

Buckwheat                               .  • 

874 

492 

18 

Buckwheat   Bran    
Buckwheat   Middlings     * 

89.5 
873 

7.4 
220 

30.4 
334 

1.9 
54 

Corn  

89.1 

7.9 

66.7 

43 

Corn  and  Cob  Meal  

89.0 

6.4 

63.0 

3.5 

Corn   Cob    

89.3 

04 

52.5 

03 

Corn   Bran    

909 

74 

598 

46 

Atlas   Gluten   Meal  

920 

246 

388 

11  5 

Gluten    Meal            .          ... 

880 

321 

412 

25 

Germ  Oil  Meal 

900 

?02 

445 

88 

Gluten    Feed 

900 

233 

507 

27 

Hominy  Chop 

889 

75 

552 

68 

Starch  Feed   wet 

346 

55 

21  7 

23 

Cotton    Seed    

897 

125 

30.0 

17.3 

Cotton   Seed  Meal 

918 

37.2 

16.9 

84 

Cotton    Seed   Hulls 

88.9 

03 

331 

1  7 

Cocoanut  Meal    

89.7 

15.6 

38.3 

10.5 

Cow    Peas     .... 

852 

183 

542 

1  1 

Flax    Seed    

90.8 

20.6 

17.1 

29.0 

Oil  Meal,  old  process  
Oil  Meal,  new  process  
Cleveland  Oil  Meal   

90.8 
89.9 
89.6 

29.3 

28.2 
32.1 

32.7 
40.1 
25.1 

7.0 
2.8 
2.6 

Kafir  Corn    

84.8 

7.8 

57.1 

2.7 

Millet  

860 

8.9 

45.0 

3.2 

Oats  

89.0 

9.2 

47.3 

4.2 

Oat  Feed  or  Shorts  

923 

125 

46.9 

2.8 

Oat  Dust  

935 

8.9 

38.4 

5.1 

Peas  

895 

168 

51.8 

0.7 

Quaker  Dairy   Feed  .... 

925 

94 

50.1 

30 

Rye   

884 

99 

67.6 

1.1 

Rye  Bran    

884 

11.5 

50.3 

2.0 

Wheat  

895 

102 

692 

1  7 

Wheat   Bran    

881 

126 

386 

30 

Wheat  Middlings  
Wheat  Shorts    

87.9 
882 

12.8 
122 

53.0 
500 

3.4 
38 

234 


A  FEEDERS'   GUIDE. 
Average  Weight  of  Concentrated   Feeds. 


KIND  OF  FEED 

One  Quart  Equals 

One  Pound  Equals 

Barley    Meal    

1.1  pounds. 

0.9  quarts 

Beet   Pulp    dried     

0.6 

17 

Brewers'   Grains     dried   

00 

17        " 

Corn  and  Cob  Meal 

14 

07 

Corn  Bran 

05 

20 

Corn   Me«il 

15 

07 

Corn,  whole  

1.7 

0.6 

Cotton   Seed  Meal    

1.4 

0.7 

Distillers'    Grains,    dried  

0.6 

1.7 

Germ  Oil  Meal   

1.4 

0.7 

Gluten    Feed    

1.3 

0.7 

Gluten    Meal    

1.8 

0.6 

Hominv   Feed    

11 

09 

H-O  Dairy  Feed    

0.7 

1.4 

Linseed  Meal,   old  process.... 
Malt  Sprouts 

1.1 
06 

0.9 
1.7 

Oat   Feed 

08 

13 

Oats    ground 

07 

14 

Oats    whole 

11 

09 

Quaker  Dairy  Feed 

10 

10 

Victor  Corn  and  Oat  Feed.  .  .  . 
Wheat  Bran  
Wheat  Middlings,   standard.  .  . 
Wheat    Middlings     flour.  .    . 

0.7 
0.5 

0.8 
12 

1.4 
2.0 
1.3 

0.8 

\Vheat    whole      ... 

19 

0.5 

SOILING  CROPS. 


235 


Soiling  Crops  Adapted  to  Northern  New  England  States. 

(Lindsey.) 

(For  10  cows'  entire  soiling.) 


Kind. 

Seeds 
per  Acre. 

Time   of 
Seeding. 

Area. 

Time  of 
Cutting. 

pjye         

2   bu 

Sept.       10-15 
10-15 
Jul.    15-Au.  1 

\      Sept. 

[       April   20 
••        30 
f       April   20 

"        30 
May     10 
"         25 

20 
20 
30 
July     15 

}       Aug.       5 

%    acre 

Vz       " 
%       " 

y2      " 

%    " 
y>    " 

y*    " 

§  ; 

I  '• 

y*    " 
i 

May   20-May   30 
June     1-June  15 
June  15-June  25 

June  15-June  30 

June  25-July  10 
July  10-July  20 
June  25-July  10 

July  10-July  20 
July  25-Aug.  10 
Aug.  10-Aug.  20 

Aug.  25-Sept.  15 
Aug.  25-Sept.  10 
Sept.  10  -Sept.  20 
Sept.  20-Sept.  30 

Oct.      1-Oct.    20 

Wheat   
Red  clover 

Grass  and          5 
clover    .  .  .  .  ^ 

Vetch  and         ^ 
oats    ^ 

Peas  and            ( 
oats    1 

2   bu  

20  Ibs 

%  bu.  red  top. 
1   pk.   timothy. 
10  Ibs.  red  clo. 
3  bu.  oats  
50  Ibs.  vetch.  . 
50    "           "      .. 
1%   bu.  Can'd'. 
1%  bu.  oats.  .  . 

1  %       "               "... 

1  peck   

Barnyard           j 
millet               I 

1      "       

Soy  bean    (me- 
dium green)  . 
Corn                     -^ 

18  quarts 
18 
18 
1   bu 

Hungarian   .... 
Barley   and        f 

I1/,   bu.   peas.  . 
iy2  bu.  barley. 

Time  of  Planting  and  Feeding  Siloing  Crops. 
(Phelps.) 


Kind   of  Fodder. 

Amount 
of  Seed 
per  Acre. 

Approxi- 
mate   Time 
of    Seeding. 

Approximate 
Time  of 
Feeding. 

1.  Rve  fodder  

2%   to  3  bu. 

Sept.        1 

May  10-20 

2    Wheat   fodder 

21/2   to  3  bu 

Sept          5-10 

May  20-June  5 

3.  Clover    

20  Ibs 

July        20-30 

June  5-15 

4.  Grass     (from     grass 

June  15-25 

5.  ) 
6.  >  Cats  and  peas   . 

2  bu    each 

April      10 
20 

June  25-July  10 
July  10-20 

8.  Hungarian 

1%  bu 

30 
June         1 

July  20-Aug.  1 
Aug    1-10 

9.  Clover  rowen 
(from  3)   

Aug.  10-20 

10.   Soy  beans   (from  3).. 
11.  Cow  peas        .... 

1  bushel. 
1 

May        25 
June         5-10 

Aug.  20-Sept.  5 
Sept.  5-20 

12.  Rowen    grass    (from 
grass  lands)  

Sept.  20-30 

13.  Barley  and  peas  

2  bu.  each. 

Aug.          5-10 

Oct.  1-30 

The  dates  given  in  the  table  apply  to  Central  Connecticut  and 
regions  under  approximately  similar  conditions. 


236 


READY  REFERENCE  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


In  Varying  Weights  of  Feed,  in  Pounds. 

Note. — These  tables  save  calculations  of  percentages,  since  the 
weights  and  contents  being1  given  in  pounds,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
find  the  kind  and  desired  amount  of  a  certain  feed,  and  the  table 
gives  the  exact  food  contents  in  pounds,  as  in  the  first  table,  15  Ibs. 
of  Green  Oat  Fodder  contains  5.7  Ibs.  of  dry  matter,  0.36  Ibs.  of 
protein  and  3.1  Ibs.  of  carbohydrates. 


POUNDS  OF 
FODDER. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

,  

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Grasses. 

Pasture  Grass, 
1:4.8 

Timothy  Grass, 
1:14.3 

Ky.  Blue  Grass, 
1:9.2 

2^    

0.5 
1.0 
2.0 
3.0 
4.0 
5.0 
6.0 
7.0 
8.0 

0.06 
0.12 
0.23 
0.35 
0.46 
0.58 
0.69 
0.82 
0.92 

0.3 

0.6 
1.1 
1.7 
2.2 
2.8 
3.3 
3.9 
4.4 

1.0 
1.9 

3.8 
5.8 
7.7 
9.6 
11.5 
13.4 
15.4 

0.04 
0.08 
0.15 
0.23 
0.30 
0.38 
0.45 
0.53 
0.60 

0.5 
1.1 
2.1 
3.2 
4.3 
5.4 
6.4 
7.5 
14.0 

0.9 
1.8 
3.5 

5.2 
7.0 
8.7 
10.5 
12.2 
14.0 

0.05 
0.10 
0.20 
0.30 
0.40 
0.50 
0.60 
0.70 
0.80 

0.5 

0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.7 
4.7 
5.5 
6.4 
7.3 

5      

10                          .... 

15 

20      

25 

30 

35      

40      

Green  Fodders. 

Green  Fodder 
Corn,  1:11.2 

Green    Oat 
Fodder,  1:8.7 

Green  Rye 
Fodder,  1:7.2. 

2y2  

0.5 
1.0 
2.1 
3.1 
4.1 
5.  2 
6.2 
7.2 
8.3 

0.03 
0.06 
0.11 
0.17 
0.22 
0.28 
0.33 
0.39 
0.44 

0.3 

0.6 
1.3 
1.9 
2.6 
3.2 
3.9 
4.5 
5.2 

0.9 
1.9 
3.8 
5.7 
7.6 
9.5 
11.3 
13.2 
15.1 

0.06 
0.12 
0.24 
0.36 
0.48 
0.60 
0.72 
0.84 
0.96 

0.5 
1.0 
2.1 
3.1 
4.2 
5.2 
6.2 
7.3 
8.3 

0.6 

1.2 
2.3 
3.5 
4.7 
5.9 
7.0 
8.2 
9.4 

0.05 
0.11 
0.21 
0.32 
0.42 
0.52 
0.63 
0.74 
0.84 

0.4 
0.7 
1.5 
2.3 
3.0 
3.S 
4.5 
5.3 
6.0 

5      

10      
15      

20      
25      

30 

35      

40      

Green  Fodders. 

Oats  and  Peas, 
1:4.2 

Barley  and 
Peas,  1  :3.2 

Red   Clover 
(green),  1:5.7 

2%  .  . 

0.5 
1.1 

2.1 
3.2 
4.3 
5.3 
6.4 
7.5 
8.5 

0.07 
0.14 
0.27 
0.41 
0.54 
0.68 
0.81 
0.95 
1.08 

0.3 
0.5 
1.1 
1.7 
2.3 
2.9 
3.4 
4.0 
4.6 

0.5 
1.0 
2.1 
3.1 
4.1 
5.2 
6.2 
7.2 
8.2 

0.07 
0.14 
0.28 
0.42 
0.56 
0.70 
0.84 
0.96 
1.12 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.4 
1.8 
2.3 
2.7 
3.2 
3.6 

0.7 

1.5 
2.9 
4.4 
5.9 
7.3 
8.8 
10.2 
11.7 

0.07 
0.15 
0.29 
0.44 
0.58 
0.73 
0.87 
1.02 
1.16 

0.4 
0.8 
1.6 
2.5 
3.3 
4.1 
4.9 
5.7 
6.6 

5 

10      

15      

20 

25                           ... 

30      

35 

40      

Green   Fodders. 

Corn  Silage, 
1:14.3 

Corn  Stover 
Silage,  1:16.6 

Clover  Silage, 
1:4.7 

2% 

0.7 
1.3 
2.6 
4.0 
5.3 
6.6 
7.9 
9.2 
10.6 

0.03 
0.06 
0.13 
0.20 
0.26 
0.33 
0.39 
0.46 
0.52 

0.4 
0.8 
1.6 
2.3 
3.1 
3.9 
4.7 
5.5 
6.2 

0.5 
1.0 
1.9 
2.9 
3.9 
4.8 
5.8 
6.8 
7.7 

1  0.02 
0.03 
0.06 
0.09 
0.12 
0.15 
0.18 
0.21 
0.24 

|  0.3 
0.5 
1.0 
1.5 
2.0 
2.5 
3.0 
3.5 
4.0 

0.7 
1.4 

2.8 
4.2 
5.6 
7.0 
8.4 
9.8 
11.2 

0.07 
0.14 
0.27 
0.41 
0.54 
0.68 
0.81 
0.95 
1.08 

0.3 
0.6 
1.3 
1.9 

2.6 
3.2 
3.9 
4.5 
5.1 

5              ': 

10      

15 

20                    

25      

30 

35                    

40      

READY  REFERENCE  TABLE  OP  CONTENTS.  237 

Varying  Weights  of  Feed  in  Pounds. — Continued. 


POUNDS  OF 
FODDER. 

>> 

h 

P^ 

9 

G 

"3 
o 

•  s 

>>v 
•grf 

£^ 

>> 
Sj 

otein. 

>>  <D 

£l     . 
0  W 

.a  .2 

>> 

Sjj 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

2  a 
£S 

PH 

5£  | 

si 
i! 

fe 

51 

*d 

£g 

Roots. 

Potatoes, 
1:7.3 

Sugar  Beets, 
1:6.8 

Carrots, 
1:9.6 

014 

0.5 
1.1 
2.1 
3.2 
4  2 
5.3 
6.3 
7.4 
8.4 

0.02 
0.05 
0.09 
0.14 
0.18 
0.23 
0.27 
0.32 
0.36 

0.4 

0.8  ; 

1.6 
2.3   1 
3.1 
3.9 

4.7 
5.4 
6.2 

0.3 
0.7 
1.4 
2.0 
2.7 
3.4 
4.1 
4.7 
5.4 

0.04 
0.08 
0.16 
0.24 
0.32 
0.40 
0.48 
0.56 
0.64 

0.3 
0.5 
1.1 
1.7 
2.2 
2.7 
3.3 
3.8 
4.4 

0.3 
0.5 
1.1 
1.6 
2.3 
2.9 
3.4 
4.0 
4.6 

0.03 
0.05 
0.10 
0.15 
0.20 
0.25 
0.30 
0.35 
.0.40 

0.2 
0.5 
1.0 
1.4 
1.9 
2.4 
2.9 
3.4 
3.8 

5 

10      

15 

20 

25      

30      

35                    .... 

40      

Roots. 

Mangel 
Wurtzels,  1:4.9 

Rutabagas, 
1:8.6 

Turnips, 
1:7.7 

2y2  

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.4 
1.8 
2.3 
2.7 
3.2 
3.6 

0.03 
0.06 
0.11 
0.17 
0.22 
0.28 
0.33 
0.39 
0.44 

0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
0.8    i 
1.1 
1.4 
1.6 
1.9 
2.2 

0.3 
0.5 
1.1 

1.6 
2.3 
2.9 
3.4 
4.0 
4.6 

0.03 

0.05 
0.10 
0.15 
0.20 
0.25 
0.30 
0.35 
1.40 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.3 
1.7 
2.2 
2.6 
3.0 
3.4 

0.2 
0.5 
1.0 
1.4 
1.9 
2.4 
2.9 
3.3 
!     3.8 

0.03 
0.05 
0.10 
0.15 
0.20 
0.25 
0.30 
0.35 
0.40 

0.2 
0.4 
0.8 
1.2 
1.5 
1.9 
2.3 
2.7 
3.1 

5      

10 

15      

9Q 

25 

30      

35      

40      

Milk. 

Skim  Milk,            Buttermilk, 
1:2.0                             1:1.7 

Whey, 
1:8.7 

2y2  .  . 

0.2 
0.5 
0.9 
1.4 
1.9 
2.4 
2.8 
3.2 
3.7 

0.07 

0.15 
0.29 
0.44 
0.58 
0.73 
0.87 
1.02 
1.16 

0.1 
0.3 
0.6 
0.9    : 
1.2 
1.6 
1.8 
2.1 
2.4 

0.2 
0.5 
1.0 
1.5 
2.0 
2.5 
3.0 
3.5 
4.0 

0.10 
0.19 
0.38 
0.57 
0.76 
0.95 
1.14 
1.33 
1.52 

0.2 
0.3 
0.6 
1.0 
1.3 
1.6 
1.9 
2.2 
2.6 

0.2 
0.3 
0.6 
0.9 
1.2 
1.5 
1.9 
2.2 
2.5 

0.02 
0.03 
0.06 
0.09 
0.12 
0.15 
0.18 
0.21 
0.24 

0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
0.8 
1.0 
1.3 
1.6 
1.8 
2.1 

5      .. 

10 

15      

20      

25 

30      

35      

40      

Hays. 

Mixed  Hay, 
1:10.0 

Timothy  Hay, 
1:16.5 

Ky.  Blue  Grass 
Hay,  1:10.6 

2  y2  

2.1 
4.2 
6.4 
8.5 
10.6 
12.7 
14.8 
16.9 
21.2 

0.11 
0.22 
0.33 
0.44 
0.55 
0.66 
0.77 
0.88 
1.10 

1.1 
2.2 
3.3 

4.4 
5.5 
6.6    : 
.   7.7 
8.8 
11.0    ' 

.22 
.43 
.65 
.87 
1.09 
1.30 
1.52 
1.74 
2.17 

0.07 
0.15 
0.21 
0.28 
0.35 
0.42 
0.49 
0.56 
0.70 

1.2 
2.3 
3.5 

4.6 
5.8 
6.9 
8.1 
9.2 
11.6 

1.9 
j     3.7 
5.6 
7.4 
i     9.2 
11.1 
13.0 
14.8 
18.5 

0.09 
0.19 
0.28 
0.37 
0.46 
0.56 
0.65 
0.74 
0.93 

1.0 
2.0 
3.0 
3.9 
4.9 
5.9 
6.9 
7.9 
9.9 

5      

7%  .  . 

10      

12%  

15      

17% 

20      

25      

238  READY  REFERENCE  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Varying  Weights  of  Feed  in  Pounds. — Continued. 


POUNDS  OF 
FODDER. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Hays. 

Oat   Hay, 
1:9.9 

Oat  and  Pea 
Hay,  1:4.1 

i     Hungarian, 
1  :10.0 

2%  .  . 

2.3 
4.6 
6.8 
9  1 

0.10 
0.21 
0.31 
0.41 
0.51 
0.62 
0.72 
0.82 
1.03 

1.0 
2.0 
3.0 
4.0 
5.1 
6.1 
7.1 
8.1 
10.2 

2.2 
4.4 
6.6 
8.9 
11.1 
13.3 
15.5 
17.7 
22.1 

0.28 
0.56 
0.84 
1.12 
1.40 
1.68 
1.96 
2.24 
2.80 

1.2 
2.3 
3.5 
4.6 
5.8 
6.9 
8.1 
9.2 
11.6 

2.1 
4.2 
6.3 
8.4 
10.4 
;  12.5 
14.6 
16.7 
20.8 

0.12 
0.25 
0.37 
0.49 
0.62 
0.74 
0.86 
0.98 
1.23 

1.2 
2.4 
3.5 
4.9 
6.2 
7.4 
8.6 
9.8 
12.3 

5  .: 

7y2  

10      

12%  

11.4 
13.7 
16.0 
18.2 
22.8 

15 

17%.  . 

20      

25      .... 

Ilnys,  etc. 

Red  Clover 
Hay,  1:5.9 

Alsike  Clover 
Hay,    1:5.0 

Oat  Straw, 
1:38.3 

2%  .  . 

2.1 
4.2 
6.4 
8.5 
10.6 
12.7 
14.8 
16.9 
21.2 

0.18 
0.36 
0.53 
0.71 
0.89 
1.07 
1.24 
1.42 
1.78 

1.0 
2.1 
3.2 
4.2 
5.2 
6.3 
7.3 
8.3 
10.5 

2.3 
4.5 
6.8 
9.0 
11.3 
13.5 
15.8 
18.1 
22.6 

0.21 
0.42 
0.63 
0.84 
1.05 
1.26 
1.47 
1.68 
2.10 

1.1 
2.1 
3.2 
4.2 
5.3 
6.3 
7.4 
8.4 
10.6 

2.3 
4.6 
6.8 
9.1 
11.4 
13.9 
16.0 
18.2 
22.7 

0.03 
0.06 
0.09 
0.12 
0.15 
0.18 
0.21 
0.24 
0.30 

1.2 
2.3 
3.5 
4.6 
5.8 
6.9 
8.1 
9.2 
11.5 

5  :: 

7%  

10      

12%  .. 

15 

17%.  . 

20      

25 

Dry  Fodder. 

Corn  Fodder, 
1:14.3 

Corn   Stover, 
1  :23.6 

Wheat  Straw, 
1  :95.0 

2%.  . 

1.4 
2.9 
4.3 
5.8 
7.2 
8.7 
10.1 
11.6 
14.5 

0.06 
0.13 
0.19 
0.25 
0.32 
0.38 
0.44 
0.50 
0.63 

0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.5 
5.4 
6.2 
7.1 
8.9 

1.5 
3.0 
4.5 
6.0 
7.5 
9.0 
10.5 
12.0 
15.0 

0.04 
0.07 
0.11 
0.14 
0.18 
0.21 
0.25 
0.28 
0.35 

0.8 
1.7 
2.5 
3.3 
4.1 
5.0 
5.8 
6.6 
8.3 

2.3 
4.5 
6.8 
9.0 
11.3 
i  13.5 
15.8 
18.1 
22.6 

0.01 
0.02 
0.03 
0.04 
0.05 
0.06 
0.07 
0.08 
0.10 

0.9 
1.9 
2.8 
3.7 
4.6 
5.6 
6.5 
7.4 
9.3 

5  :: 

7%  

10      

12%  

15      

17%.  .. 

20      

25      

Grains. 

Corn  Meal, 
1:11.3 

Corn  and  Cob                   Oats, 
Meal,  1:13.9                    1:6.2 

14  .  . 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.7 
2.6 
3.4 
4.3 
6.4 
8.5 

0.02 
0.04 
0.08 
0.13 
0.19 
0.25 
0.32 
0.48 
0.63 

0.2 
0.4 
0.8 
1.4 
2.1 
2.9 
3.6 
5.4 
7.1 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.7 
2.6 
3.4 
4.3 
6.4 
8.5 

0.01 
0.02 
0.05 
0.10 
0.14 
0.19 
0.24 
0.36 
0.48 

0.2 
0.3 
0.7 
1.3 
2.0 
2.7 
3.4 
5.1 
6.7 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.5 
6.7 
8.9 

0.02 
0.05 
0.09 
0.18 
0.28 
0.37 
0.46 
0.69 
0.92 

0.1 
0.3 
0.6 
1.1 
1.7 
2.3 
2.8 
4.3 
5.7 

%.. 

1 

2      

3      

4      .... 

5      

7% 

10      

READY  REFERENCE  TABLE  OP  CONTENTS.  239 

Varying  Weights  of  Feed  in  Pounds. — Continued. 


POUNDS  OF 
FODDER. 

>j 
i* 

pU 

o> 
t  +j 

otein. 

•  o    1 
i+* 

?*>  G> 

o  w 
&v 

>> 

h 
P^ 

<D 

c 
"£ 
o 

•-S 

>>"£ 

o  w 

•a  .2 

>> 

SS 

otein. 

o  of 

£2  <1> 

£s 

£s 

PH 

£* 

Ur^ 

Sa 

es 

PH 

51 

3S 
^ 

Pn 

rtg 

o£ 

By  Products. 

Barley, 
1:8.9 

Barley  Screen- 
ings, 1:7.7 

Wheat  Bran, 
1:3.8 

14  

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 

1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.5 
6.7 
8.9 

0.02 
0.04 
0.09 
0.17 
0.26 
0.35 
0.44 
0.65 
0.87 

0.2 
0.3 
0.7 
1.4 
2.1 
2.8 
3.5 
5.2 
6.9 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.6 
3.5 
4.4 
6.6 
8.8 

0.02 
0.04 
0.09 
0.17 
0.26 
0.34 
0.43 
0.65 
0.86 

u 

0.3 
0.7 
1.3 
2.0 
2.7 
3.3 
5.0 
6.6 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.6 
3.5 
4.4 
6.6 
8.8 

0.03 

0.06 
0.12 
0.24 
0.36 
0.48 
0.60 
0.90 
1.20 

0.1 
0.2 
0.5 
1.0 
1.4 
1.8 
2.3 
3.4 
4.6 

Vz  •  • 

1 

9 

3       

4 

5      

Tl/2  •   . 

10      

By  Products. 

Wheat  Middl- 
ings, 1:4.6 

Wheat  Screen- 
ings,  1:5.2 

Red-dog  Flour, 
1:3.3 

14  

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.6 
3.5 
4.4 
6.6 
8.8 

0.03 
0.06 
0.13 
0  25 
0.38 
0.50 
0.63 
0.94 
1.25 

0.1 
0.3 
0.6 
1.2 
1.7 
2.3 
2.9 
4.4 
5.8 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.5 
4.4 
6.6 
8.8 

0.02 
0.05 
0.10 
0.20 
0.29 
0.39 
0.49 
0.74 
0.98 

0.1 
0.2 
0.5 
1.0 
1.5 
2.0 
2.5 
3.8 
5.1 

0.2 
0.5 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.6 
6.8 
9.1 

0.04 
0.09 
0.18 
0.36 
0.53 
0.71 
0.89 
1.34 
1.78 

0.1 
0.3 
0.6 
1.2 
1.7 
2.3 
2.9 
4.4 
5.8 

1/2  .  . 

1 

2 

3      

4      

5 

7%  •  . 

10  ...::::::::::: 

By  Products. 

Rye, 

1:7.8 

0.02 
0.04 
0.09 
0.18 
0.27 
0.36 
0.46 
0.67 
0.89 

Rye  Bran, 
1:5.1 

Cottonseed 
Meal,  1:1.0 

14  

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.5 
4.4 
6.6 
8.8 

0.2 
0.3 
0.7 

1.4 
2.1 
2.8 
3.5 
5.2 
6.9 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.5 
4.4 
6.6 
8.8 

0.03 
0.06 
0.12 
0.25 
0.37 
0.49 
0.62 
0.92 
1.23 

0.2 
0.3 
0.6 
1.3   ! 
1.9 
2.5 
3.1 
4.6 
6.3 

0.2 
0.5 
0.9 
1.8 
2.9 
3.7 
4.6 
6.9 
9.2 

0.10 
0.20 
0.40 
0.80 
1  20 
1.60 
2.00 
3.00 
4.00 

0.1 
0.2 
0.4 
0.8 
1.2 
1.6 
2.0 
3.0 
4.0 

14  .  . 

1      .  . 

2 

3      

4      

5 

7%.  . 

10  *  :::::::::::::: 

By  Products. 

Cottonseed 
Hulls,  

Linseed  Meal 
o.  p.,  1:1.5 

Linseed  Meal 
n.  p.,  1:1.3 

J/4  .  . 

0  2 

0.1 
0.2 
0.4 
0.7 
1.1 
1.5 
1.8 
2.7 
3.7 

0.2 
0.5 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.9 
6.8 
9.0 

0.08 
0.15 
0.31 
0.62 
0.92 
1.23 
1.54 
2.31 
3.08 

0.1 
0.2 
0.5 
1.0 
1.4 
1.8 
2.3 
3.4   i 
4.6 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.5 
6.7 
8.9 

0.08 
0.16 
0.32 
0.65 
0.97 
1.30 
1.62 
2.43 
3.24 

0.1 
0.2 
0.4 
0.8 
1.3 
1.7 
2  1 
3.2 
4.2 

4.. 

0  4 

1      '    09 

2      |     18 

3      2.7 
4       2  fi 

.... 

5 

4.5 

6.7 
8.9 

0.01 
0.02 
0.03 

7%.. 

10 

240 


READY  REFERENCE  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Varying  Weights  of  Feed  in  Pounds. — Continued. 


POUNDS  OF 
FODDER. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

Total  Dry 
Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates, etc. 

By  Products. 

Flax  Meal, 
1:1.4 

Gluten  Meal 
(Chi.),  1:1.5 

Gluten  Meal 
(Cr'm.),  1:1.7 

14  

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.9 

2.7 
3.6 
4.5 
6.7 
8  9 

0.08 
0.16 
0.32 
0.64 
0.96 
1.28 
1.60 
2.40 
3  21 

0.1 
0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.3 
1.7 
2.2 
3.3 
4  3 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.6 
3.5 
4.4 
6.6 
8  8 

0.08 
0.16 
0.22 
0.64 
0.96 
1.28 
1.60 
2.40 
3  21 

0.1 
0.2 
0.5 
0.9 
1.4 
1.9 
2.3 
3.5 
4.7 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 

lt8 

sie 

4.5 
6.7 
9.0 

0.07 
0.15 
0.30 
0.59 
0.89 
1.19 
1.49 
2.23 
2.97 

0.1 
0.2 
0.5 
1.0 

1.5 
2.1 
2.6 
3.9 
5.1 

•LL 

1                                               ... 

2            

3 

4           .  . 

5                       

7  %  

10 

By  Products. 

Gluten  Feed 
(Buffalo),  1:2.4 

Hominy    Chop, 
1:9.2 

Dried  Brewer'* 
Grains,  1:3.0 

14                  

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.7 
6.8 
9.0 

0.06 
0.12 
0.23 
0.47 
0.70 
0.93 
1.17 
1.74 
2.33 

0.1 
0.3 
0.6 
1.1 
1.7 
2.3 
2.8 
4.3 
5.9 

0.2 
0.5 
0.9 
1.8 
2.8 
3.7 
4.6 
6.9 
9.2 

0.02 
0.04 
0.09 
0.17 
0.26 
0.35 
0.44 
0.65 
0.87 

0.2    j 
0.4 
0.8 
1.6 
2.4 
3.2 
4.0 
6.0 
8.0 

0.2 
0.5 
0.9 
1.8 
2.8 
3.7 
4.6 
6.9 
9.2 

0.04 
0.08 
0.16 
0.31 
0.47 
0.63 
0.79 
1.18 
1.57 

0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
0.9 
1.4 
1.9 
2.4 
3.5 
4.7 

y2        

1 

2 

3               

4 

5 

7  1£       

10 

By  Products. 

Atlas  Gluten 
Meal,  1:2.6 

Malt    Sprouts, 
1:2.2 

Pea  Meal, 
1:3.2 

i/ 

0.2 
0.5 
0.9 

1.8 
2.8 
3.7 
4.6 
6.9 
9.2 

0.06 
0.12 
0.25 
0.49 
0.74 
0.98 
1.23 
1.85 
2.46 

0.2 
0.3 
0.6 
1.3 
1.9 
2.6 
3.2 
4.9 
6.5 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.5 
6.7 
9.0 

0.05 
0.09 
0.19 
0.37 
0.56 
0.74 
0.93 
1.40 
1.86 

0.1 
0.2 
0.4 
0.8 
1.2 
1.6 
2.0 
3.0 
4.0 

0.2 
0.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.7 
3.6 
4.5 
6.7 
9.0 

0.04 
0.08 
0.17 
0.33 
0.50 
0.67 
0.86 
1.26 
1.68 

0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
1.1 
1.6 
2.1 
2.7 
4.0 
5.3 

14                           .  .  .  . 

i   .::::::::.:... 

2      

3 

4      

5 

7% 

10       

GLOSSARY. 

Ad  libitum.  At  pleasure;  in  case  of  feeding  farm  animals  all 
they  will  eat  of  a  particular  feeding  stuff. 

Albuminoids.  A  group  of  substances  of  the  highest  importance 
in  feeding  farm  animals,  as  they  furnish  the  material  from  which 
flesh,  blood,  skin,  wool,  casein  of  milk,  and  other  animal  products 
are  manufactured.  Another  name  for  albuminoids  is  flesh -forming 
substances  or  protein. 


RSITY 

Ash.  The  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  which  remains  when  it  is 
burned,  the  incombustible  part  of  feeds.  The  ash  of  feeding  stuffs 
goes  to  make  the  skeleton  of  animals,  and  in  the  case  of  milch 
cows  a  portion  thereof  goes  into  the  milk  as  mUk  ash. 

The  Babcock  test.  This  test,  by  which  the  per  cent,  of  butter 
fat  in  milk  and  other  dairy  products  Can  be  accurately  and  quickly 
determined,  was  invented  in  1890  by  Dr.  S.  M.  Babcock  of  Wiscon- 
sin Agricultural  College. 

Bacteria.  Microscopic  vegetable  organisms.  They  are  widely 
diffused  in  nature,  and  multiply  with  marvelous  rapidity.  Certain 
species  are  active  agents  in  fermentation,  while  others  appear 
to  be  the  cause  of  certain  infectious  diseases. 

Balanced  ration.  A  combination  of  feeding  stuffs,  containing 
the  various  nutrients  in  such  proportions  and  amounts  as  will 
nourish  the  animals  for  twenty-four  hours,  with  the  least  waste 
of  nutrients. 

By-products.  A  secondary  product  of  an  industry;  cottonseed 
meal  is  a  by-product  of  the  cotton  oil  industry;  skim  milk  and 
butter  milk  are  by-products  of  butter  making. 

Carbohydrates  (or  carbhyd rates).  A  group  of  nutrients  rich  in 
carbon  and  containing  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in  the  proportion  in 
which  they  form  water.  The  most  important  carbohydrates  found 
in  feeding  stuffs  are  starch,  sugar,  gums  and  fiber  (cellulose.) 

Carbon.  A  chemical  element,  which  with  the  elements  of 
water,  makes  up  the  larger  part  of  the  dry  matter  of  plants  and 

animals. 

241 


242  DEFINITIONS  OP  TERMS  USED. 

Carbonic  acid.  A  poisonous  gas  arising  from  the  combustion 
of  coal  or  wood.  It  is  formed  in  all  kinds  of  fermentations  and 
therefore  occurs  in  deep  silos  in  the  siloing  of  fodders. 

Casein.  The  protein  substance  of  milk  which  is  coagulated 
by  rennet  or  acids. 

Cellulose.     See  fiber. 

Concentrates.  The  more  nutritious  portion  of  the  rations  of 
farm  animals  embracing  such  feeding  stuffs  as  wheat  bran,  corn, 
oil  meal,  etc.;  synonymous  with  grain  feeds,  or  concentrated  feeds. 

Corn  fodder  or  fodder  corn.  Stalks  of  corn  which  are  grown 
for  forage  and  from  which  the  ears  or  nubbins  have  not  been  re- 
moved. 

Corn  stover  or  stalks.  The  dry  stalks  of  corn  from  which  the 
ears  have  been  removed. 

Crude  fiber.     See  Fiber. 

Digestible  matter.  The  portion  of  feeding  stuffs  which  is  di- 
gested by  animals,  i.  e.,  brought  in  solution  or  semi-solution  by 
the  digestive  fluids,  so  that  it  may  serve  as  nourishment  for  the 
animal  and  furnish  material  for  the  production  of  meat,  milk, 
wool,  eggs,  etc. 

Dry  matter.  The  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  remaining  after  the 
water  contained  therein  has  been  removed. 

Ensilage.  An  obsolete  word  for  silage.  Used  as  a  verb,  like- 
wise obsolete,  for  to  silo;  to  ensile  also  sometimes  incorrectly 
used  for  the  practice  of  placing  green  fodders  into  a  silo. 

Enzyme.  An  unorganized  or  chemical  compound  of  vegetable 
or  animal  origin,  that  causes  fermentation,  as,  pepsin  or  rennet. 

Ether  extract.  The  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  dissolved  by 
ether;  mainly  fat  or  oil  in  case  of  concentrated  feeding  stuffs;  in 
coarse  fodders,  fat,  mixed  with  a  number  of  substances  of  uncer- 
tain feeding  value,  like  wax,  chlorophyll  (the  green  coloring  matter 
of  plants),  etc. 

Fat.     See  ether  extract. 

Feed  unit.  A  quantity  of  different  feeding  stuffs  that  has  been 
found  to  produce  similar  results  in  feeding  farm  animals  as  one 


DEFINITIONS  OF  TERMS  USED.  243 

pound  of  grain  (corn,  barley,  wheat  or  rye).     For  list  of  feed  units, 
see  page  219. 

Feeding  standard.  A  numerical  expression  of  the  amount  of 
various  digestible  substances  in  a  combination  of  feeding  stuffs 
best  adapted  to  give  good  results  as  regards  production  of  animal 
products,  like  beef,  pork,  milk,  etc. 

Fiber.  The  frame  work  forming  the  walls  of  cells  of  plants. 
It  is  composed  of  cellulose  and  lignin,  the  latter  being  the  woody 
portion  of  plants  and  wholly  indigestible. 

Glucose  or  fruit  sugar.  The  form  of  sugar  found  in  fruits, 
honey,  etc.,  also  in  the  alimentary  canal. 

Indian  corn.  Zea  mays,  the  great  American  cereal  and  fodder- 
producing  plant. 

Hydrogen.  A  chemical  element,  a  gas.  Combined  with  oxygen 
it  forms  water,  with  oxygen  and  carbon  it  forms  carbohydrates 
and  fat;  with  oxygen,  carbon  and  nitrogen  (with  small  amounts 
of  sulphur  and  phosphorus)  it  forms  the  complex  organic  nitro- 
genous substances  known  as  protein  or  albuminoid  substances. 

Legumes.  Plants  bearing  seeds  in  pods  and  indirectly  capable 
of  fixing  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  air,  so  that  it  becomes  of  value 
to  the  farmer  and  will  supply  nitrogenous  food  substances  to 
farm  animals.  Examples,  the  different  kinds  of  clover,  alfalfa, 
peas,  beans,  vetches,  etc.  Of  the  highest  importance  agriculturally 
as  soil  renovators,  and  in  supplying  farm -grown  protein  foods. 

Maintenance  ration.  An  allowance  of  feed  sufficient  to  main- 
tain a  resting  animal  in  body  weight  so  that  it  will  neither  gain 
nor  lose  weight. 

Nitrogen.  A  chemical  element,  making  up  four-fifths  of  the 
air.  The  central  element  of  protein.  See  under  hydrogen. 

Nitrogen -free  extract.  The  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  remain- 
ing when  water,  fat,  protein,  fiber,  and  ash  are  deducted.  It  in- 
cludes starch,  sugar,  pentosans,  and  other  substances.  It  is  so 
called  because  it  does  not  contain  any  nitrogen. 

Nitrogenous  substances.  Substances  containing  nitrogen 
(which  see). 

Nutrient.  A  food  constituent  or  group  of  food  constituents 
capable  of  nourishing  animals. 


244  DEFINITIONS  OF  TERMS  USED. 

Net  nutrients.  The  portion  of  the  digested  part  of  the  food 
that  remains  after  the  amounts  required  for  mastication,  digestion 
and  assimilation  have  been  used  up.  It  is  this  portion  only  that  is 
of  real  value  to  animals  and  furnish  material  for  building  up  of 
tissue  or  elaboration  of  animal  products. 

Nutritive  ratio.  The  proportion  of  digestible  protein  to  the 
sum  of  digestible  carbohydrates  and  fat  in  a  ration,  the  per  cent, 
of  fat  being  multiplied  by  21/4,  and  added  to  the  per  cent,  of 
carbohydrates  (fiber  plus  nitrogen-free  extract). 

Organic  matter.  The  portion  of  the  dry  matter  which  is  de- 
stroyed on  combustion  (dry  matter  minus  ash). 

Oxygen.  A  chemical  element  found  in  a  free  state  in  the  air, 
of  which  it  makes  up  about  one-fifth,  and  in  combination  of  hydro- 
gen in  water;  oxygen  is  also  a  rarely- lacking  component  of  or- 
ganic substances.  See  carbohydrates  and  hydrogen. 

Protein.  A  general  name  for  complex  organic  compounds 
mainly  made  up  from  the  elements  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  and 
nitrogen.  Crude  protein  includes  all  organic  nitrogen  compounds, 
while  true  protein  or  albumenoids  (which  see)  only  includes  such 
nitrogenous  substances  in  feeding  stuffs  as  are  capable  of  forming 
muscle  and  other  tissue  in  the  animal  body. 

Ration.  The  amount  of  feed  that  an  animal  eats  during  twen- 
ty-four hours. 

Roughage.  The  coarse  portion  of  a  ration,  including  such 
feeding  stuffs  as  hay,  silage,  straw,  corn  fodder,  roots,  etc.  Con- 
centrated feeding  stuffs  are  sometimes  called  grain -feeds  or  con- 
centrates, in  contradistinction  to  roughage. 

Silage.  The  succulent  feed  taken  out  of  a  silo.  Formerly 
called  ensilage. 

Silo.  An  airtight  structure  used  for  the  preservation  of  green, 
coarse  fodders  in  a  succulent  condition.  As  a  verb,  to  place  green 
fodders  in  a  silo. 

Soiling.  The  system  of  feeding  farm  animals  in  a  stable  or 
enclosure,  with  fresh  grass  or  green  fodders,  as  corn,  oats,  rye, 
Hungarian  grass,  etc. 

Starch.     One    of   the    most    common    carbohydrates    in    feeding 


DEFINITIONS  OF  TERMS  USED.  245 

stuffs,   insoluble   in   water,   but   readily  digested   and   changed   to 
sugar  in  the  process  of  digestion. 

Succulent  feeds.    Feeding  stuffs  containing  considerable  water, 
like  green  fodder,  silage,  roots  and  pasture. 

Summer  silage.     Silage  intended  to  be  fed  out  during  the  sum- 
mer and  early  fall  to  help  out  short  pastures. 

Summer  silo.     A  silo  used  for  the  making  of  summer  silage. 


CONCLUSION. 

In  conclusion  we  desire  to  state  that  the  object  of  this  book  is 
to  place  before  the  farmer,  dairyman  and  stockman  such  informa- 
tion as  will  be  valuable  and  practical,  in  as  concise  and  plain  a 
manner  as  possible,  and  to  make  a  plea  in  behalf  of  the  silo  as  an 
improver  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  farmer.  That  the  silo 
is  a  prime  factor  in  modern  agriculture  is  no  longer  a  matter  of 
doubt.  The  silo  is  not  the  sum  total  in  itself,  but  as  an  adjunct, 
and,  in  the  case  of  dairying,  a  necessary  adjunct  to  successful  and 
profitable  methods,  its  value  is  difficult  to  overestimate. 

One  of  the  greatest  values  of  the  silo  is  that  as  an  innovation 
it  becomes  a  stepping-stone  to  better  methods  in  general;  it  stim- 
ulates its  owner  and  spurs  him  on  to  see  just  how  good  and  far- 
reaching  results  he  can  obtain  from  his  revised  system  of  manage- 
ment. It  invites  a  little  honest  effort,  and  coupled  with  this  it 
never  fails.  It  enables  its  owner  not  only  to  do  what  he  has  been 
unable  to  do  before,  but  things  he  has  done  without  its  help  the 
silo  enables  him  to  do  at  less  cost  than  before.  The  solution  of 
the  problem  of  cost  of  manufacture  is  necessary  to  every  success- 
ful producer,  and  as  the  proposition  is  constantly  changing,  the 
solutions  of  our  forefathers,  or  even  of  a  generation  ago,  no  longer 
avail.  The  silo  is  not  an  enticing  speculation  by  means  of  which 
something  can  be  gotten  out  of  nothing,  but  a  sound  business 
proposition,  and  has  come  to  stay.  The  voices  of  thousands  of  our 
best  farmers  and  dairymen  sing  its  praises,  because  it  has  brought 
dollars  into  their  pockets,  and  increased  enjoyment  to  them  in 
their  occupations  and  their  homes. 

Have  you  cows?  Do  you  feed  stock?  Do  you  not  need  a  silo? 
Is  it  not  worthy  of  your  best  thought  and  consideration?  You  owe 
it  to  yourself  to  make  the  most  you  can  out  of  the  opportunities 
before  you.  DO  IT  NOW! 


246 


INDEX 


PAGE. 

Acreage  required  for  filling  silos 26 

Advantages  of  the  silo   11,  203 

Alfalfa  silage    150 

All-metal  silos   . 105-108 

Analyses  of  feeding  stuffs 231 

Animal  body,  composition  of  the 212 

Approximate  daily  ration  of  silage 29 

Ash 214 

Average  composition  of  silage  crops '-. 230 

Bagasse,  sorghum,  for  silage 154 

Ballard  octagonal  silo 72-75 

Beef  cattle,  silage  for  118-194 

Beef  supply  for  United  States 119 

Beets,  cost  of,  per  acre 208 

Beet-pulp  silage    156-166 

Blower  elevators   , 183 

Bluegrass  pastures  of  the  South 115 

Bottom  of  the  silo   32 

Brick  lined  silos    50 

Brick  silos   102-103 

Building  up  fertility  in  the  South 137 

Broom  corn  for  silage 156 

Cactus,  spineless,  for  silage 168 

Canada  thistles  for  silage lf.8 

Cane,  Japanese,  for  silage 169 

Capacity  of  round  silos 28 

Carbonic  acid  poisoning  in  silos,  danger  from 110,  185 

Cattle,  daily  silage  ration  for 29 

Cement  block  silos 93-98 

247 


248  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Cement  block  silos,  how  made,  reinforcing,  etc.,  of 93-98 

Cement  lining,  how  to  maintain 94,  102 

Cement  stave  silos   98 

Certified  milk,  silage  in  production  of 192 

Chart  showing  fertility  removed  from  soil 132 

Chemical  composition   of  silage 230 

Circles,  circumferences,  and  areas  of 67-68 

Clover  silage   146,  149 

Clover  silage,  cost  of 147 

Clover,  time  of  cutting  for  the  silo 148 

Clover,  yield  per  acre 148 

Comparative  cost  of  producing  silage 207-209 

Comparative  feeding  value  of  corn,  kafir  and  cane 125 

Comparative  losses  in  dry  curing 15 

Composition  of  the  animal  body 212 

Composition  of  silage  crops 230 

Composition  of  feeding  stuffs 214 

Conclusion  246 

Concrete  monolithic  silos 82-89 

Concrete  silos  82-89 

Concrete  silos,  forms  used  for  making 87-89 

Connecting  round  silos  with  barn 69 

Conserving  soil  fertility  with  silage  system 130-138 

Corn,  cutting  of,  in  the  field 173 

Corn  land,  preparation  of  139 

Corn,  methods  of  planting 144 

Corn  silage  vs.  fodder  corn 207 

Corn  silage  vs.  hay 205 

Corn  silage  vs.   roots 204 

Corn,  siloing  of,  "ears  and  all" 176 

Corn,  see  also  Indian  corn  and   Fodder  corn. 

Corn,  time  of  cutting  for  silo 142 

Cost  of  beets  per  acre 208 

Cost  of  corn  silage .. . .  207-210 

Cost  of  silos  75-77 

Covering  silage    186 

Cow-pea   silage    151 

Crops  for  the  silo  139-159 

Crude  fiber 215 

Cutter  and  power,  size  of 180-182 


INDEX.  249 

PAGE. 

Definition   of  terms   used 212,  241 

Description  of  "Ohio"  silage  cutters 180,  257-264 

Devil  grass  for  silage 155 

Different  types  of  silo  structures 30 

Digestibility  of  foods 217 

Digestible  dry  matter  in  different  feeding  stuffs 236-240 

Doors  for  silos  62-63 

Doorways,  continuous,  for  block  silos 96 

Doorways,  continuous,  for  cement  silos 87 

Drouth,  silo  in  times  of 113,  114 

Dry  matter  in  corn  at  different  stages 145 

Ears  and  all,  siloing  of  corn 176 

Economy  of  storage  17 

Elevators,  pneumatic 181-184 

Ensilage,  see  Silage. 

Estimating  of  materials  for  silos 78-80 

Feeders'  guide,  etc 212 

Feeding  of  silage 190 

Feeding  standards    220-222 

Feeding  stuffs,   composition   of 213 

Feeding  value  of  corn,  kafir  and  cane 125 

Fern  brake  for  silage 158 

Fertility  chart 132 

Fertility  in  100  Ibs.  of  beef 136 

Fertility  in  one  ton  of  butter 136 

Fertility  in  the  South 137 

Feterita   for   silage 154 

Field-curing  of  fodder  corn,  losses  in 12-15 

Filling  of  silo   173 

Floor  plan  of  silos  and  model  barn 51 

Food  from  thistles 19,  158 

Food  ingredients,  increase  in 143 

Forming  the  plate    38 

Forming  the  sill 33 

Forms  for  building   silos 89 

Foundation   for  silos    32 

Fox  tail  for  silage 155 

Freezing  of  silage 67,  107,  188 


250  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Georgia   Station   results 129 

Grain  mixtures  for  dairy  cows 225 

Guide,  a  feeders'   212 

Gurler  silo    .  .46-48 


Harvey  system  of  reinforcement 93 

Hauling  corn  from  field,  rack  or  sled  for 174 

Hills  or  drills,  planting  of  corn  in 144 

History  of  the  silo 11 

Home-made  silos,  Ballard 72 

Horizontal  girts,  silos  with 73 

Horizontal  reinforcement  for  concrete  silos 86 

Horses,  daily  silage  ration  for 29 

Horses,  silage  for •. 196 

How  to  build  a  silo 21 

How  to  feed  silage 190 

How  to  figure  out  rations 225 

How  to  place  frame  on  the  foundation 52 

Hurst  system  of  reinforcement !»7 

Hy-Rib  and  Metal-Lath  reinforced  silos 90 


Illinois  Station  results  122 

Increase  in  number  of  silos 8 

Indian  corn • 139 

Indian  corn,  chemical  changes  in 142 

Indian   corn,   increase   in   food    ingredients   from    tasseling   to 

ripeness 143 

Indian  corn,  methods  of  planting 144 

Indian  corn,  see  also  Corn  and  Fodder  Corn. 

Indian  corn,  soil  adapted  for 139 

Indian  corn,  varieties  of,  to  be  planted  for  the  silo 140 

Indiana  Station  results 123 

Introduction 7 

Iowa  silo,  the 101 

Iowa  Station  results.  .                                                                               .  126 


Japanese  cane  for  silage 169 

Johnson  grass  for  silage 156 


INDEX.  251 

PAGE. 

Kafir  for  silage 153,  160 

Kale  for  silage   155 

Kansas  Station  results 125 

King   or  Wisconsin   silo 51 

Late  summer  drouths   19 

Lining  for  silos   38-40 

Location  of  the  silo 30 

Losses  in  dry  curing 12-13 

Losses  in  siloing  process 14 

Losses  in  siloing  alfalfa 15 

Low  wagons  for  hauling  corn 174 

Lucerne,  see  Alfalfa. 

Materials  for  the  silo 55 

Metal  bucket,  chain  elevators 180 

Metal-lath  silos    90-92 

Milch  cows,  silage  for 190 

Milch  cows,  silage  rations  for 193 

Milo  for  silage   153,  160 

Mineral   matter    212 

Miscellaneous   silage   crops 156-159 

Missouri    Station    results 121 

Modification  of  "Wisconsin"  silo 45 

Monolithic  concrete  or  cement  silos 83 

Mules,  silage  for   198 

Nebraska  Station  results •  •  121 

Night  pasturing  and  summer  silo 114 

Nitrogen-free  extract    215 

No  danger  from  late  summer  drouths 19 

No  danger  of  rain 17 

North  Carolina  Station  results 122 

Number  of  silos 8 

Number  of  staves  required  for  stave  silos 67 

Nutritive  ratio    218 

Oats  and  peas  for  silage 157 

Oats,  wheat  and  rye  for  silage 157 


252  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Octagonal  silos    69-75 

"Ohio"  silage  cutters,  description  of 180,  257-264 

Opinions  of  recognized  leaders  209 

Painting  the  silo  lining   44-45 

Patented  cement  blocks 97-98 

Patented  forms  for  silos 89 

Peanuts   for  silage 155 

Peas  and  oats  for  silage 157 

Pennsylvania  Station  results 121 

Pit  or  underground  silos 108-110 

Plastered  round  wooden  silos 46-47 

Planting  corn,   methods  of * 144 

Planting  corn,   thickness  of 144 

Pneumatic  elevators 181 

"Poultrymen's   silos"    203 

Poultry,   silage  for 203 

Preparation  of  corn  land 139 

Preservation  of  silos   80 

Protection  against  freezing,  stave  silo 67 

Protein 214 

Rack,  low-down,  for  hauling  corn 174 

Rate  of  feeding  from  silos  of  different  diameters 29 

Rate  of  feeding  silage  from  surface 28,  29 

Ration  of  silage,  daily 29 

Rations,  how  to  figure  out 225 

Rations,  silage,  for  dairy  cows 193 

Ready  reference  tables    236-240 

Reinforced  concrete  silo  construction 84-90 

Reinforcement  for  concrete  silos 86 

Reinforcing  for  stone,  brick  or  cement  silos 84,  86 

Relative  value  of  feeding  stuffs 217 

Restoring  fertility  in  the  South 137 

Robertson's  silage  mixture 152 

Renovation  of  Tennessee  blue  grass  pastures 115 

Roof  for  the  silo 39,  40,  57,  64,  97,  107 

Round   silos   31-69 

Russian  thistles  for  silage 158-165 

Rye,  wheat  and  oats  for  silage 157 


INDEX.  253 

PAGE. 

Saskatchewan  Station  results 124 

Setting  studding  for  doors 36 

Setting  the  studding   • '. 33 

Sheep,  daily  silage  ration  for 29 

Sheep,   silage  for 198-202 

Shoemaker  farm   silos    174 

Silage,  alfalfa   150 

Silage  and  soil  fertility 130-138 

Silage,  approximate  daily  ration  of 29 

Silage  cart 191 

Silage,  chemical  composition  of 230 

Silage,   clover    146 

Silage,  cost  of 125,  147,  207-210 

Silage,  Cow  Pea   151 

Silage  crops    139 

Silage  crops  for  semi-arid  regions  and  for  South.- 160 

Silage   crops  for  the   South 169 

Silage,  depth  to  feed,  daily 28,  29 

Silage-fed  beef  cattle  in  the  South 129 

Silage,  feeding  of   190 

Silage  for  beef  cattle  118,  194 

Silage  for  horses 195 

Silage  for  milch  cows 189,  193 

Silage  for  mules 198 

Silage  for  poultry   202 

Silage  for  sheep    197 

Silage  for  swine    201 

Silage,  freezing  of   67,  107,  188 

Silage  from  frosted  corn 188 

Silage,  how  to  feed 190 

Silage,  how  to  make 173 

Silage,  quantities  of,  required  for  different  herds 26,  29 

Silage,  rations  for  milch   cows 193 

Silage — Robertson's    Silage    Mixture 152 

Silage,  sorghum,  milo  and  kafir 153,  160 

Silage  spoils   quickly  in   summer 117 

Silage  truck     191 

Silage,  use  of,  in  beef  production 118,  194 

Silage,  steamed    188 

Silo  helps  reclaim  blue  grass  pastures 115 


254  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Silo  must  be  air-tight  21 

Silo  must  be  deep 22 

Silo  must  have  smooth  perpendicular  walls 22 

Silo  sheeting  and  siding 38 

Silo  walls  must  be  rigid  and  strong 23 

Silo,  summer     Ill 

Silo,  surplus  crops  stored  in 114 

Silo,  the  Ballard  octagonal 72-75 

Silo,  the   Iowa    101 

Silos,  acreage  to  fill 26 

Silos,  all-metal  103-108 

Silos,  brick 102-103 

Silos,  brick   lined    50 

Silos,  cement  block    93-98 

Silos,  cement   stave    98 

Silos,  concrete  82-89 

Silos,  cost  of 45,  46,  48,  64,  75-79,  87-92 

Silos,  form  of  26 

Silos,  foundation  of  32,  33,  35,  43,  48,  90,  97,  101 

Silos,  general  requirements  for  21 

Silos,  home-made,  Ballard 72 

Silos,  how  to  build .     21 

Silos,  how  to  place  frame  on  foundation  of 33 

Silos,  Hy-Rib  or  Metal-lath  reinforced 90 

Silos,  kinds  of  wood  for 32 

Silos,  lining   of    wooden 38 

Silos,  location  of  30 

Silos,  metal-lath  . . . , 90-92 

Silos,   monolithic  concrete 82-89 

Silos,   number  of 8 

Silos,  octagonal    69 

Silos,  on  the  form   of 26 

Silos,  proper  diameter  of 28,  29 

Silos,  roof  for    39,  40,  57,  64,  97,  .107 

Silos,  round,   capacity    25 

Silos,  round   wooden    31 

Silos,  size   required    24 

Silos,  specifications  for   31,  45,  50,  55,  72,  78,  79 

Silos,   steel  ribbed  plastered 90-92 

Silos,  superstructure    *  •  •  •     32 


INDEX.  255 

PAGE. 

Silos,  the  filling'  process    173 

Silos,  the  time  of  filling- 18,  143,  174 

Silos,  three  methods  of  making-  sill  for 34 

Silos^  underground 108 

Silos,  underground  or  pit 108-110 

Silos,  value   in    intensive   farming 19 

Silos,  ventilation  of    41-44 

Silos,  vitrified  tile 99-102 

Silos  with  horizontal  girts 73 

Size  of  cutter  and  power  required 178. 

Size  of  silo  required 24 

Soiling  crops,  table  of 235 

Soiling  crops,  time  of  planting  and  feeding 235 

Soil  fertility  maintained  with  silage 150 

Soy  beans    152 

Sorghum  bagasse    154 

Sorghum    silage    153,  160 

South  Carolina  Station  results 121 

South  Dakota  Station  results 124 

Southern  and  Northern  varieties  of  corn,  comparative  yield  of.  141 

Specifications  for  a  stave  silo 55 

Stave  silos   50-69 

Stave  silos,  calculation  of  staves  required  for 67 

Stave  silos,  roof  of 57 

Stave  silos,  specifications  for 55 

Steamed    silage    188 

Steel  ribbed  plastered  silos 90-92 

Steers,  silage  for  118,  194 

Stock-yards,  boosters  for  silage 120 

Succulence 16 

Sudan  grass  for  silage 155 

Summer  drouth 114 

Summer  silo,  advantages  of Ill 

Surplus  crops  stored  in  silo  114 

Swine,  silage  for  201 


Teosinte  for  silage 154 

Texas   Station  results 128 

Thickness  of  planting  corn , 144 

Time  of  cutting  corn  for  the  silo 142 


256  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Time  of  filling  the  silo 18,  143,  174 

Thistles  for  silage 158 

Truck  for  silage    191 

Underground  or  pit  silos 108-110 

Underground  silos  108 

Uniform  quality  of  feed 16 

Use  of  silage  in  beef  production 118 

Value  in  intensive  farming 19 

Varieties  of  corn  to  be  planted  for  the  silo 139 

Ventilation  of  the  silo 41-44 

Vertical  reinforcement  for  concrete  silos 86 

Vetches  for  silage 155 

Vitrified  tile  silos 99-102 

Waste  products  for  silage 159 

Water,  use  of,  in  filling  silos 186 

Weeds  for  silage   159 

Weight  of  concentrated  feeds 254 

Wheat,  rye  and  oats  for  silage .    1 57 

Wisconsin  Experiment    Station  silos,   description   of 48-51 

Yields  of  clover  per  acre 148 


Silver's  Pony  Blower  Silo  Filler 

Operates  with  six  horse  gasoline  engine. 
Capacity  three  to  five  tons  silage  an  hour. 
Self  Feed  with  new  Friction  Reverse 
Cylinder  Cutting  Mechanism  with  direct 
suction  to  blower. 


Silver's 
Pony  Blower 

is  an  inexpen- 
sive Silo  Filler  for 
the    individual   use   of 
the    farmer    who    de- 
sires   a    light    power 
Blower    without    any 
of  the  disadvantages  common  to  the  fly  wheel  type  of  Cutter. 

The  size  and  design  of  this  Cutter  makes  it  especially  adapted 
for  general  farm  use  in  cutting  all  kinds  of  crops.  It  is  very 
compact  and  light;  at  the  same  time  it  is  of  ample  strength  and 
capacity  for  filling  silo.j  and  will  satisfactorily  operate  with  a  six 
or  eight  horse  gasoline  engine. 

Direct  Suction  Into  Blower — The  construction  of  this  machine 
is  a  departure  from  former  types  of  Blower  Silo  Fillers.  The 
material  is  drawn  directly  from  the  knives  into  the  fan  case  by 
suction  without  the  use  of  any  conveying  mechanism  whatever. 
This  feature  has  been  thoroughly  tested  out  through  two  silage 
cutting  seasons  to  the  complete  .satisfaction  of  users. 

Capacity  is  ample  for  silos  up  to  fifty  and  seventy-five  tons.  It 
will  cut  and  elevate  three  to  five  tons  silage  an  hour.  "Where  speed, 
or  liability  of  frosts,  or  a  large  force  of  men  and  teams  are  factors- 
in  the  case,  we  recommend  a  larger  machine. 

Feeding  Mechanism  with  Friction  Reverse — The  machine  is 
equipped  wit.i  the  well-known  "Ohio"  Self  Feed  Apron  and  bull- 
dog grip  feed  rollers  all  controlled  by  a  single  lever  which  stops, 
starts  or  reverses  the  feed  rolls  and  table  at  a  touch.  The  reverse 
consists  of  a  wood  friction  mechanism  and  operates  without  the 
slightest  strain. 

The  Drive  Pulley,  Cutting  Cylinder,  Fly  Wheel  and  Blower  Fan 
are  all  on  the  1  9/16  in.  main  shaft,  utilizing  every  ounce  of  power 
applied.  Knives  have  cutting  edges  of  high  carbon  tool  steel,  care- 
fully tempered.  Suitable  guards  cover  the  knives  and  other 
moving  parts.  Fan  Case  is  heavy  sheet  steel,  electrically  welded. 
7  in.  galvanized  pipe  is  used.  The  machine  has  two  knives  and 
four  lengths  of  cut.  "Ohio"  Shredder  blades  for  dry  fodder  are 
interchangeable  with  knives. 

The  machine  can  be  furnished  with  or  without  special  truck  for 
mounting.  Send  for  printed  matter  on  Silver's  Pony  Blower. 

See  Silver's  "OHIO"  Silo  Fillers.      Pages  260  to  264. 

257 


No.  770  Clover  Cutter. 
Cuts  y»"  lengths,  for 
Poultry. 


No.  778  Lever,  11" 
Knife.    Wt.  50  Ibs. 


No.  783  Cuts   yz   to 
2".  Hand  or  Power. 


Send  for  SPECIAL  Printed 
LINE  of  SILVER'S  "OHIO" 


No.  830  Root  and 
Vegetable  Cutter. 
Cuts  and  Slits. 


In  addition  to  Silver's  "Ohio"  Silo  Fillers, 
as  described  in  the  following  pages,  we 
manufacture  a  complete  line  of  Feed  Cutters 
and  Fodder  Shredders  in  various  sizes  and 
styles.  A  few  representative  machines  are 
shown  on  this  page. 

Whether  you  cut  40  tons  of  silage  each 
season  or  4,000  tons  you  can  make  a  selection 
from  Silver's  famous  "Ohio"  line  that  will 
just  suit  your  requirements. 


Metal  Bucket  Carrier 
for  No.  11  Cutter.  De- 
livers to  Right,  Left  or 
Front. 


Silver's    Round     Inclosed     Steel     Carrier 
Straight  Delivery  for  No.  11  Ohio  Cutter. 

258 


No.  8y2  and 
For  Hand  or 
Power.  4  lengths 
Cut.  Strong  and 
Dnrable. 


No.  9S  Cuts  i/4  to 
2".  1  to  2  H.  P. 
Gasoline.  \Vt.  410 
ll.s. 


No.  11SS  with  Self  Feed 
Table.  Cuts  %  to  2". 
3  to  4  Tons  Silage  an 
Hour.  2  to  3  H.  P.  Gas. 
With  or  without  Carrier. 


Matter  on  the  FAMOUS 
CUTTERS  and  SHREDDERS 


Whether  you  feed  one  animal  or  1,500  you 
will  find  that  the  "Ohio"  offers  just  the  size 
and  style  that  will  fit  your  needs  and  your 
purse. 

"Quality  First"  is  the  motto  that  has  made 
these  machines  popular  the  world  over. 

If  you  are  interested  in  fodder  cutting-  or 
shredding-  machinery,  do  not  fail  to  secure  our 
special  printed  matter  on  "The  Famous  OHIO 
Cutters  and  Shredders." 


No.  832  Root  Cut- 
ter and  Pulper. 
Slits  and  Pulps. 


Metal  Bucket  Carrier,  Straight  or  Swivel 
Delivery,  for  "Ohio"  Monarch  Silo 
Fillers  Nos.  12,  15  and  17. 

259 


"Ohio"  Shredder  Blade* 
Replace  Knives  on 
Cutters  from  No.  9  Up. 
We  also  make  other 
styles  of  Shredders. 


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Silver's  "Ohio"  Silo  Fillers 


Points  of  Merit  in 
a  Nut  Shell 


Strength  an«l 
Durability  —  Solid 
hardwood  frames, 
mortised,  tenoned, 
double  pinned,  with 
iron  rod  and  nut  re- 
inforcement. They 
cannot  warn  All  The  soi  d  f°UQdation  upon  which  "Ohio" 
cannot  warp.  All  superstructures  are  reared. 

castings  and  steel  on 

machine  are  very  heavy.     "Ohio"   Cutters  made   twenty  years  ago 
are  still  in  regular  service. 

"Ohio"  Capacities — Have  no  equal  on  the  market.  They  are  all 
based  on  half-inch  cut.  The  throat  opening  is  very  large  and  high. 
The  fan  surface  is  two  to  four  times  as  great  as  on  other  machines. 
"Ohio"  capacity  ratings  are  based  on  work  by  the  day  or  season — 
not  by  ten-minute  tests. 

Self-Feed — The  "bull-dog  grip"  of  upper  and  lower  rollers  has 
made  "Ohio"  capacity  and  easy  feeding  qualities  famous.  A 
stationary  comb  prevents  the  material  from  winding  around  the 
lower  roller.  The  traveling  table  was  first  adopted  by  the  "Ohio" 
and  has  since  been  copied  by  all  others.  Its  entire  surface  is 


The  sure,  positive  "hull-clog:  grip"  of  "Ohio"  Feed 
Rollers  is  famous.  The  Single  lever  gives  absolute 
control  of  rolls  and  table,  stopping,  starting  or 
reversing  the  feed  at  a  touch. 

262 


movable,     avoiding     a  1  1 
friction   due  to  dragging 

the   fodder   by   means   of 
hooks,  etc. 

Direct  Drive  —  With 
drive  pulley,  knife  cylin- 
der and  blower  fan  all 
on  one  shaft.  One  com- 
pact set  of  gears  does 
the  work.  The  direct 
drive  avoids  trouble  and 
b  i  g  repair  bills.  The 
powerful  lift  of  fan  is 
done  at  low  speed — no 
danger  of  blow-ups  or 
explosions  —  no  make- 
shift transmission 
mechanism. 


Auger  side  of  machine  with  fan  case 
removed.  The  auger  prevents  feed  from 
entering  blower  in  bulky,  irregular 
quantities. 


Cutting  Cylinder — The  solid  wall  of  corn  steadily  forced  against 
the  cutting  knives  cannot  spring  them  away  from  Cutter  Bar  on 
the  "Ohio,"  because  of  bearings  at  each  end  of  knives.  This  is  im- 
possible on  the  fly  wheel  type  where  springing  results  in  uneven 
cutting,  with  long  pieces  of  leaves  to  form  air  pockets  in  the  silo. 
Investigate  the  new  bearings  and  ring  oiling-device,  exact  adjust- 
ments, etc. 

Simplicity  and  Protection — Only  six  gears  and  six  sprockets  on 
the  entire  machine — the  gears  are  perfectly  housed — iron  or  steel 
guards  cover  all  moving  machinery — there  is  a  uniform  movement 
of  feed  table  and  rolls  on  any  length  of  cut. 

One  Lever  Controls  All — A  single 

lever,  almost  human,  controls 
the  entire  feeding  mech- 
anism— stopping,  starting 
or  reversing  at  will.  It  is 
easily  accessible.  A  six- 
year-old  boy  can  operate 
it. 

Reverses  by  Friction — 

No  strain — no  breakages 
— it  took  three  years  to 
perfect,  but  it  is  worth  it. 
Our  new  special  wood 
friction  clutch  device  in- 
stantly reverses  without 
the  slightest  strain — not 
The  friction  gear  wheel  and  outside  a  gear  tooth  changes 
guards  are  removed  to  show  compact  ^pcv,  Friction  is 
simplicity  of  "Ohio"  gearing.  lu  chang-  mesh;  *  rlC  »* 
ing  from  full  speed  ahead  to  reverse  posed  of  small 
not  a  gear  tooth  changes  mesh.  The  wood  segments  easily  re- 
peer  of  all  reverses  on  the  market.  placed  by  the  user. 


Simplicity  of  Fan  Case  Side — The  auger  carries  feed 
evenly  to  blower  instead  of  in  bulky  irregular  quantities. 
The  main  shaft  bearings  are  conveniently  adjusted.  All 
drive  chain  on  the  machine  is  No.  l-Vz,  and  is  inter- 
changeable. 

Safety — The  "Ohio"  never  explodes — it  has  an  enor- 
mous powerful  blast  at  low  speed — 650  to  700  R.  P.  M. 

Guards  for  Protection  of  Operator  cover  all  Moving 
parts. 

Other  Features — Blows  to  highest  silos.  Cuts  all  crops. 
Is  very  easy  running.  Makes  highest  quality  of  silage. 
Is  ready  to  move  anywhere  by  taking  down  pipe.  Suit- 
able for  pit  silos  by  simply  removing  the  blower.  Made 
in  five  popular  sizes.  <~*ua  ity  class  of  users  everywhere. 
Converted  into  first  class  Shredder  by  replacing  knives 
with  "Ohio"  shredder  blades. 


New  "Ohio"  Elbow — This  large  circle 
curved  elbow  is  furnished  free  with  each 
"Ohio"  Monarch  Blower  Machine.  It  is 
seven  feet  long,  of  steel,  and  open  on  under 
side  to  prevent  back  pressure. 

The  Silo  Tube  delivers  the  leaves,  mois- 
ture and  heavier  parts  at  any  desired  point 
in  silo,  uniformly  mixed  as  cut  and  with  a 
strong,  self-packing 
force.  The  tube  is  of 

heavy  galvanized  steel.  The  three-foot 
sections  telescope  together,  and  have  chain 
connections,  readily  detachable. 


This  view  shows  the  Blower  side  of 
"Ohio"  Monareh  Silo  Fillers;  also  the 
special  steel  truck  on  which  they  are 
mounted.  It  will  be  noted  that  the 
opening  in  fan  case  now  has  a  .sliding  guard. 

264 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA 
BRANCH    OF    THE    COLLEGE    OF    AGRICULTURE 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


JfrH 


18 'SI 


NOb   '54 

*  8  1967 


om-8/26 


Pressboard 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 
Stockton,  Calif. 

PAT.  JAN.  21.  1S98 


3I1Q54 

Silver  nanilifactur' 


Salem.   0 


3B195 
1314 


553 


LIBRARY 


3M034- 

,  BRANCH  OF  THE  Ci 


COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 


